The Memphis Police Department is a little closer to its long-term goal of achieving a 2,500 complement after announcing the arrival of 70 recruits who graduated in July and another 100 recruits who will graduate in December.

In recent years, the department has struggled with staffing due to multiple factors, including a nationwide staffing shortage, societal upheaval that followed the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020, and pension and insurance cuts made within the department in 2014. 

However, with restored benefits, competitive pay, new incentives and ramped-up recruiting efforts, MPD hopes to see more progress by next year in at least its short-term goal of 2,300 officers set by Mayor Jim Strickland and MPD Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis.

Crime Crisis: MPD brass wants more officers. Here’s how it’s deploying who it has

As of June 30, MPD was staffed with 1,907 officers. The department anticipates that number to rise to about 2,060 officers once the second class graduates by December, taking into account an attrition rate which rose from 116 to 160 officers in 2021 from the year before. 

“That number is going to ebb and flow, fluctuate, just the same,” said Shawn L. Jones, Assistant Chief of Police Services. “But if everything remained constant, for the most part, and if our graduation rate from the academy is consistent, which is about 83%, it should take us to maybe 2,060 or somewhere in that area.” 

The department’s No. 1 goal, Jones said, is to expedite the 911 response time.

Each month, the department receives an average of about 55,000 calls, he said. 

In past years, the department has struggled to reach its self-imposed goal of answering 95% of 911 calls. Currently, it falls 2.69% behind, according to a Performance Dashboard on the city’s data hub. 

Top cop plans changes to MPD, including restructuring department’s ranking system

To help with that goal, the department has recently recruited 10 dispatchers who will begin training in August. The department did not supply the total number of dispatchers already employed, but according to a list of employee salaries compiled in August 2021, MPD had about 146 dispatchers last year. 

The new patrol officers will help with the 911 response time on the back end, responding to calls until they are eligible to be promoted after three or four years in the field. 

In turn, these recruits will alleviate the patrol workload and allow veteran officers who demonstrate above-average talents to be promoted to specialized units, such as the Fugitive, SCORPION and Entertainment District Units. 

The arrival of new officers has already allowed the department to staff the Entertainment District Unit in the Downtown area with 30 additional officers, something Davis promised the City Council a month after an officer-involved shooting occurred on Beale Street in April.

Davis also promised that the department would staff its Traffic Division, based in the Austin Peay Station, with a commander and 10 additional officers, including six motorcycle officers.

Crime rates increase in Memphis, Shelby County despite some decreases in violent crime

The change was meant to happen in June, but Jones said in July that staffing that division would instead be a long-term goal that will come into fruition by 2023 after the class of 100 recruits graduates in December. 

Here is a breakdown of which precincts to which the 70 newest recruits from the 136th Basic Recruit Class in July were deployed:

• Austin Peay Station – 5 
• Raines Station – 12 
• Mount Moriah Station – 7 
• Crump Station – 6 
• Tillman Station – 9 
• North Main Station – 3 
• Airways Station – 6 
• Appling Farms Station – 12 
• Ridgeway Station – 8 
• Community Engagement – 2 

Jones said when the 137th Basic Recruit Class of 100 recruits graduates, they will be deployed as needed, depending on attrition rates and the number of vacancies for each precinct.

The department did not disclose how many officers were already deployed to each precinct. 

How officers are deployed depends on the volume of calls each precinct gets. Some of the busiest precincts, Jones said, are the Mt. Moriah, Ridgeway, Austin Peay and Appling Farms stations. 

Data shows number of traffic-related arrests increased in 2022

In March, MPD said its overtime costs increased by 15% from the year before. 

Once MPD reaches its short-term goal of 2,300 officers, the hope is that it can reduce overtime costs by 10% to 15%, Jones said.

But he said overtime is difficult to gauge, because factors like special events and protests could call for more officers working overtime hours. 

Due to rising overtime costs, MPD announced in May it was eliminating the fourth shift, dubbed the Delta shift, that is often operated on a 10-hour, four-day-a-week schedule.

The department realized it wasn’t working on their eight-hour, five-day shift schedule and eliminated it, leaving only the Alpha, Bravo and Charlie shifts. Alpha is 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.; Bravo is 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Charlie is 3 to 11 p.m.

MPD graduates 70 recruits; ‘truth in sentencing’ kicks in

“I think everybody thinks that (Delta shift) was a cure-all to everything,” Jones said. “But there’s only three recognized shifts in law enforcement and in America.”

The department has invested in a telestaffing tool to help manage complex scheduling and staffing.

In the spring, to address staffing issues in law enforcement agencies, the Tennessee General Assembly passed a ban on residency requirements that have kept employees from living outside the county. 

To gauge the effectiveness of the new legislation, the department polled the 100 trainees in the 137th class that is due to graduate in December. Although most were from Tennessee, about eight were from Mississippi and about four were from Arkansas, Jones said.

The Daily Memphian asked for exact numbers but has not yet received a response. 

MPD’s fugitive team works to clean up the streets

The department has begun to institute a more competitive starting wage, something it fell behind on in recent years. 

The starting salary for recruits is $51,000, Jones said. 

By contrast, other law enforcement agencies’ starting salaries for recruits with basic training is:

• $48,560 for Collierville Police Department
• $42,803 for Shelby County Sheriff’s Office
• $45,753.06 for the Bartlett Police Department
• $43,714.68 for the Germantown Police Department

The wage for MPD officers is expected to increase in fiscal year 2023 after Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland proposed in his budget a 10% raise for officers over the next two years. 

The department has instituted a number of other incentives to aid in recruiting efforts, including instituting a $15,000 sign-on bonus, relocation reimbursement and down-payment assistance for officers relocating from other municipalities.

Crime Crisis: After two years of record homicides, Memphis’ deadliest ZIP codes identified

There is also a retention incentive of 9% per year to officers who stay on the force for up to five years and a $5,000 referral bonus for existing officers who refer candidates.

In addition to sign-on bonuses, having a bachelor’s degree will earn officers an additional 7% bonus, and a master’s degree will earn them a 9% bonus, Jones said.

By September, the department plans on giving some officers take-home cars.

“And that’s an incentive within itself, because you don’t have to drive your car back and forth to work,” Jones said. “You’d be able to drive one of our cars and, at the same time, create visibility in the public for our citizens.”

Crime Crisis: Memphis’ reputation as ‘crime city’ raises broad concerns

The department also hosts recruitment events and advertises in communities where individuals may be interested in law enforcement. 

The department hopes to recruit another 45 to 100 officers after the next class graduates in December.

Those who are interested in applying to join MPD can visit the website here.