Many community members believe Memphis is in a “crime crisis” influenced by parenting, poverty and personal responsibility that will require the efforts of civic leaders, court systems and community members to address.

Residents from neighborhoods across the city expressed their opinions during a series of conversations in June and July. The discussions were part of a focus group study commissioned by The Daily Memphian and conducted by Trust Marketing & Communications.

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Beverly and Howard Robertson of Trust Marketing led the sessions.

Howard Robertson said participants’ definitions of public safety went beyond crime.

“Crime is a public safety issue,” he said. “But they had some other issues of things that should be addressed in the interest of public safety that may not be considered crime, like the blight.”

The focus groups are part of an increased focus on public safety and criminal justice coverage, said Eric Barnes, CEO and acting executive editor of The Daily Memphian. The conversations led by the Robertsons follow a major survey of attitudes about crime.

“The community conversations give more texture and depth to the attitudes local people have about crime,” Barnes said. “But maybe what’s most notable is that across the city and county, among people of a wide range of backgrounds and demographics, people share very similar attitudes about the crime problem and what should be done to address it.” 

Why did we commission this study?

The sessions’ objectives were to understand community members’ perceptions about public safety, identify issues and those responsible for addressing crime, and discuss solutions.

The report is intended to “galvanize leaders” to address major issues that were identified, according to the report.

Who participated in the study?

Seventy-five people participated in the five focus groups, each of which met once.

The Robertsons and The Daily Memphian selected community leaders to host the gatherings as well as submit lists of potential participants. All participants, who are anonymous, were required to live and work in the geographic area of their focus group.

Participants were spread throughout various Memphis communities: Soulsville/South Memphis (13); East Memphis/Hickory Hill (18); Whitehaven/Westwood (15); Frayser/Raleigh (16); and Midtown/Downtown/Orange Mound (13). 

Howard Robertson said the participants ranged in age, race and gender.

“We had a really good cross-section, but we weren’t tightly scripted, if you will, in terms of demographic breakdown,” Robertson said. 

How were the conversation topics developed?

Conferring with The Daily Memphian, Trust Marketing built a foundational questionnaire.

“It was an interchange or an exchange and interaction between us as well as The Daily Memphian,” Beverly Robertson said.

“Crime is a public safety issue. But they had some other issues of things that should be addressed in the interest of public safety that may not be considered crime, like the blight.”

Howard Robertson

She said there were no right or wrong answers during the sessions.

“The sessions were pretty fully free-flowing,” she said. “And they were honest; people told their truth. And that was what was so good about it. Nothing was really necessarily off limits.”

Howard Robertson said the conversations were balanced and defined them as “people speak.”

“It wasn’t media speak. It wasn’t politician speak. It wasn’t preacher speak,” he said.

The results

Most participants said Memphis is in a “crime crisis” and said the community must come together in attempting to tackle it. 

The Frayser/Raleigh group had the highest number of participants who said they had been victims of crime. One participant said he had become desensitized to what has been happening in his community.

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Although that resident said he feels safe in Frayser, he added, “I have become desensitized to things happening.” 

Participants believed juveniles drive crime and the media inflates the perception of crime. 

Some in the Whitehaven/Westwood/Airport thought news media is shaping negative perceptions about crime by labeling crime stories as “breaking news.”

Participants expressed a need for more police officers but also emphasized those officers must develop relationships with the community.

Some in this group drew a distinction between crime and public safety, and they believed it was up to the community to address crime.

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Most groups – including South Memphis/Soulsville, Frayser/Raleigh and Whitehaven/Westwood/Airport – believe public safety encompasses blight, environmental pollution, abandoned and substandard housing, drugs and insufficient communication from the city about the availability of resources.

Similarly, all the groups talked about the problems of dangerous conditions on local roads and highways, including speeding and reckless driving. 

Participants in the Whitehaven/Westwood/Airport group said a safe community looks like a clean, worry-free environment with no gunshots.

People “do whatever (they) wish to do, free of fear from personal injury and property damage,” a participant said.

Another said, “The cleanliness of your neighborhood determines the value of your neighborhood.”

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Addressing poverty, blight, years of community dis-investment and mental health are key to addressing crime, according to participants. Providing youth opportunities and stricter gun legislation would help address and prevent crime. 

Participants said the criminal justice system is broken. It works too slowly, and bail is too lenient.

“There is a lot happening in the court system that we are not privileged to see,” one participant said. “People are let out … hands are lowered … deals are made … someone (gets) out on a lesser offense … back out on the street.”

While they believe children and adults need to be held accountable, they also expressed the need for more rehabilitative and restorative opportunities.

Most groups agreed the top three contributors to crime were personal responsibility, poverty and parenting. But the Midtown/Downtown/Orange Mound group also saw limited educational opportunities in underserved neighborhoods and the lack of livable-wage jobs as top contributors.

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Two of the 15 Midtown/Downtown/Orange Mound participants said they had family members who had been victims of violent crime.

Some participants, including those in the South Memphis/Soulsville group, said parents need to be held more accountable for their children.

East Memphis/Hickory Hill and Whitehaven/Westwood/Airport group members agreed, saying parenting is the number one contributor to crime. 

The East Memphis/Hickory Hill group also believes the court system is the number one entity responsible for addressing crime.

A participant from that area described the abject poverty they witness with regularity.

“I’ve been in hundreds of homes where kids did not have linens on their beds, slept with roaches crawling around, no food in the house and babies raising babies ... and if you are hungry, don’t have money and are living under these conditions, some people are going to steal,” the participant said.