We are in a crime crisis. Anyone living in or visiting Memphis sees this. We are on track to hit multiple records this year. Over 2,200 cars have been reported stolen this year already, with a substantial portion of these thefts being committed by juveniles.

Before I left the Memphis Police Department earlier this year, I was a part of MPD’s Auto-Theft Task Force (ATTF), under the umbrella of the Organized Crime Unit. Coming across a juvenile inside of, or driving, a stolen car was almost a daily occurrence. A rising trend throughout last year was Hyundais and Kias being stolen because they are easy to steal. Videos have circulated online how to do this and are widely abundant to any curious mind. A juvenile looking to steal a car for whatever reason would need nothing more than a screwdriver.

Every day, police officers like me were told these car thefts were the crime drivers in the city. Almost every major crime you see on the news has a stolen car involved in some form or fashion. A stolen car is much more than a petty crime. It is a Memphian’s way of providing for their family. And the auto-theft issue is the base of this city’s growing problems.

Violence intervention must be a ‘team sport,’ crime researcher says

As police, we were tasked with the impossible: Save the city with the bare minimum equipment and a lack of support from local government and fund needed tools out of our personal budgets. For a department faced with an epidemic of crime and receiving 30 percent of the city’s taxes, we could not figure out why we were not being treated as highly valued as we were told we were.

“A stolen car is much more than a petty crime. It is a Memphian’s way of providing for their family. And the auto-theft issue is the base of this city’s growing problems.”

Meanwhile, we saw juvenile thieves steal cars, then commit a litany of other felonies: Burglaries, shootings, robberies, carjackings, etc.

These juveniles evade officers when they are seen, in part because they know police will only sometimes chase them. Officers mostly have their hands tied with extremely limited tools to combat this evolving issue.

When police do catch these kids, it tends to be more a result of happenstance or, sometimes, extremely coordinated efforts by officers. But both cannot happen enough times to make a net positive impact on the issue with the current policies and tools in place.

I want to tell you about an individual I dealt with on a recurring basis during my tenure at ATTF.

This young man started out by stealing cars, with an affinity for taking Infinitis. His history of criminal activity dates to before he was 13 years old. He knew how to steal cars and what he wanted. All he needed were the tools to do so, which he could get.

‘The kids that did this to us’: Juveniles driving car crimes higher

The Wolfchase area and Downtown hotels were his prime targets, then he would joyride through the city. He would commit many, many more car thefts and break-ins, then drive the cars to his apartment complex Downtown. He would park the cars there, then walk to his home. He had done this dozens of times before and felt safe in doing so. As the years passed, his crimes increased to carjackings and robberies. Still petty crimes, according to him.

While talking to this young man in 2021, he told me these kinds of crimes are not a big deal.

“It’s just a car,” he would say.

He did not see how he was impacting the livelihood of his victims. He did not understand that people need their cars for everyday living. But most of us understand the impact.

America was built around the car. If you have kids, you buy a car with a nice-sized back seat. If you need to haul lumber, then you will probably buy a truck.

Our cars are attached to our lives in a very meaningful way.

In this young man’s mind, though, stealing cars was a way to make easy, fast and fun money. He would sell these cars to individuals for a few thousand dollars, then repeat the cycle. He brought in other juveniles who would go on to steal dozens of other cars and commit more thefts of their own. They would then branch out to their various friend groups.

No ‘more pressing’ issue in Memphis community than juvenile crime

This continued until he turned 18.

Feeling brazen from his lack of accountability from the justice system, he went on to face charges of second-degree murder. A friend of his faced first-degree murder charges. 

These were but a few of the hundreds of arrests we made. The pattern was similar though. The crimes tended to lead to worse and worse crimes until someone is seriously injured or killed.

While with the ATTF, officers like me requested specialized equipment, policy changes, and overall better connections with the court system to fight this crime.

“The officers on the streets place their lives and livelihood in jeopardy on an hourly basis. They deserve better support. Most officers have bought into the idea of making a difference. This is what drives them. ”

Not much was given for equipment. Instead, most of it was purchased from our own wallets. Vehicle lockout kits, sledgehammers, hand tools and cutting tools were but a few of the expensive tools we purchased to perform the bare minimum of our job. Despite being promised quite a few tools, we were told the city would not approve the funding. Or someone would lose the requests in the mix of other paperwork. 

No policy changes ever occurred, despite situations which showed the need for changes from chases, lack of chases and overall restrictions of our daily work.

We were able to develop a few connections with various prosecutors to help better draft our warrants and improve the long-term case handling process. We were given some training in various laws, methods of identifying stolen cars using special databases, and the applicability of both to catching thieves.

But we simply could not keep up with the trends. It was not a secret we were handicapped dearly. Every criminal we encountered knew it; many stated it when they were finally caught.

I have written a lot about how MPD does not do enough. Soon I’ll write about how the Shelby County Juvenile Court also does not do enough to reduce crime.

Bill Gibbons and Buddy Chapman discuss policing and crime on ‘Behind the Headlines’

However, I want to say that MPD recognizes there is a problem with juveniles and has done some excellent work. But more must be done. The officers on the streets place their lives and livelihood in jeopardy on an hourly basis. They deserve better support. Most officers have bought into the idea of making a difference. This is what drives them. But when the heads of MPD state they want to truly attack crime, then they must back up their statements with the required tools, training and policies.

The ATTF is still active and has great members staffing it. They are motivated to curb this crime. Mostly for personal reasons, they want their own kids to live in Memphis and be safe, which is the best motivation you can have.

But the equipment problem has not changed. And with the terrible death of Tyre Nichols, city government is questioning the need for the types of units like the ATTF.

If crime is bad with poorly equipped units still doing great work, then how bad will it get without these units?