Memphis' Crime Crisis

10 years. $10M. 2,100 SkyCop cameras. And a crime increase of 57%

By  and , Daily Memphian Updated: November 22, 2021 12:54 PM CT | Published: November 18, 2021 2:00 PM CT

SkyCop cameras have cost Memphis more than $10 million since 2010, but a Daily Memphian analysis shows the city experienced more crime with a vast camera system than without it, and cameras rarely help criminal investigations.

Topics

SkyCop Memphis Police Department crime
Matt Stroud

Matt Stroud

Matt Stroud, a former correspondent for Bloomberg News and The Associated Press, is an investigative reporter with The Daily Memphian. He is the author of “Thin Blue Lie: The Failure of High-Tech Policing,” and the creator of the six-part podcast, “Guru: The Dark Side of Enlightenment.”

Aidian Holder

Aidian Holder

Aidian Holder is on The Daily Memphian investigative team as a data journalist. A graduate from University of Missouri, Holder spent a decade in television news as a news producer before joining the Yakima Herald-Republic in 2015. At Yakima, he was a digital producer and then the digital media manager, where he helped lead the digital transition of the newsroom. 

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