Opinion: Memphians are sick and tired of excuses about crime
‘Memphians are sick and tired of excuses about crime.' Memphis Police officers on the scene of an apparent carjacking at Poplar Avenue and Hawthorne Street last September. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)
Shep Fargotstein
Shep Fargotstein is a third generation Memphian. He is married and has five adult children, one of whom lives in Memphis. He runs a wealth management group based in Memphis.
The Daily Memphian welcomes a diverse range of views from guest columnists on topics of local interest and impact. Columns are subject to editorial review and editing for length and clarity. If you’re interested in having a guest column considered by The Daily Memphian, email Eric Barnes.
Memphians are sick and tired of excuses about crime. Memphians are sick and tired of looking over their shoulders when pumping gas or getting out of their cars.
Crime is the No. 1 issue in Memphis and the public is rightfully arming itself as a means of self-preservation.
It is obvious to everyone that the system is broken — and the solution should be to fix it. Now.
It is time for the Shelby County Commission to authorize the construction of a new jail to increase capacity and efficiency. The Walter L. Bailey Jr. Criminal Justice Center at 201 Poplar Ave. first opened in 1981 and is going through a $50 million renovation that started in 2019.
But its capacity to hold prisoners has never been expanded. Instead, inmates are put into overcrowded cells.
The solutions to crime are simple: Besides building another, much bigger Justice Center with excess capacity to hold more prisoners, we need to create more seats for judges.
Build more courtrooms. Give appointed judicial commissioners less discretion and stricter guidelines in performing their duties.
Seventeen years ago, there were three newly appointed judicial commissioners working at the Shelby County Criminal Justice Center. The commissioners set bonds; reviewed probable cause findings by police officers and sheriff’s deputies; looked over misdemeanor citations; and reviewed and signed arrest and search warrants.
The idea was to reduce the Shelby County Jail population by releasing suspects who were determined to not be a public threat and who were likely to show up for their next court dates.
Since then, the Shelby County Commission has expanded the Judicial Commission to 10 appointed commissioners. Both Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy and Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland have complained about violent criminals, as well as repeat career criminals, being released, with Strickland repeatedly complaining that 201 Poplar has become a “revolving door.” There are too many instances where violent criminals are set free on low — or no — bond the next day.
Steve Mulroy
Mulroy is implementing changes to how bail is handled in February. I hope it works, because if it doesn’t, people will rightfully be pointing fingers at him when looking for excuses.
Regardless of those changes to the bail system, there should also be a citizen component to the Judicial Commission to represent the rights of victims. To many, there is the impression that liberal defense lawyers constitute the majority of Judicial Commissioners.
A citizen component to the Judicial Commission could help balance the views of the commission — or report back to other citizens that such a perception is incorrect.
Memphis today is like living in the Wild West. Maybe our beloved mayor should have considered building a new justice complex instead of a huge sports complex.
As a city, we have regressed, and criminals have taken over. And it’s going to get a lot worse before it gets better if our government continues with the excuses.
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