Memphis, Tennessee

Reducing Robbery and Gang Violence in Hot Spots

Memphis Police Department cars

Memphis Police Badge

Site LE Agency
Memphis Police Department

Site Researcher
Richard Janikowski, Ph.D., University of Memphis

Site Focus
Robbery, Burglary

SPI Strategy
Place-based policing, Offender-based policing

Site Cohort
2009

Site Profile
Large urban area of 315.06 sq. miles with a population of 667,421

Project Overview

The Memphis SPI addressed robbery and burglary patterns among gangs, parolees, and youth offenders in the Old Allen Station area of Memphis through the utilization of task forces and the organized crime unit (suppression). Data analysis helped to identify apartment complexes with the most significant crime problems, allowing for efficient use of resources. The initiative also included community engagement and community building supported by enhanced intelligence, crime mapping, and crime analysis. The team implemented offender-based strategies that identified and built intelligence on gang members and gang structures, and executed intervention programs to prevent juvenile criminal behavior. Additionally the Memphis SPI used place-based strategies in engaging apartment complexes located in crime hot spots and offering them training on crime prevention and other social services to address this issue. These interventions resulted in a decrease in robberies and residential burglaries in the Old Allen Station area.

Methods and Findings

  • Approximately 6,000 parolees and people on probation lived in Old Allen Station at the time of the intervention.
  • Arrest data from 2011 shows that individuals aged 17 and younger were in involved in 25 percent of robberies. 
  • Old Allen Station showed an almost 8 percent decrease in robberies and residential burglaries after the SPI implementation.