On Monday’s broadcast of “CNN News Central,” Shelby County, Tennessee Mayor Lee Harris (D) responded to a question on if Memphis needs help on crime by saying that “the most famous place for crime in America right now is Utah, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County…and we’re not sending troops there because we know that the troops will not stop crime.”
Co-host John Berman asked, “One of the things that we have, I think, all learned the last six weeks or so, with this renewed focus by the administration on crime, is we keep talking about the lists of murder rates and violent crime rates in the U.S. city by city, because the president, up until now, had been looking at cities in states led by Democrats. Of course, Memphis is a city in a state led by a Republican. But we can see on the list here, Memphis is top of the list in terms of violent crime rate, also, I think, typically, in the homicide rate, also. Doesn’t Memphis need some help?”
Harris answered, “Well, it turns out, John, that the most famous place for crime in America right now is Utah, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County. And I don’t want the president to send military troops there either, but the governor, based on his statement, says that the police force there is ineffective. We saw the most high-profile murder we’ve seen in months, the murder of Charlie Kirk, take place in that state, and we’re not sending troops there because we know that the troops will not stop crime. Instead, what troops do is they suppress activity. In other words, individuals stay at home. They don’t go to Grizzly games, they don’t go to restaurants. And so, that reduced activity leads to reduced conflict and temporarily reduced crime.”
Berman then asked, “Mayor Harris, obviously, the focus on cities across the country was taking place well before the horrific murder of Charlie Kirk in Utah. What do you think the issue is in Memphis? Why are the rates as high as they are there?”
Harris responded, “Well, crime is not going to be solved by something that fits on a bumper sticker, and I know that that’s hard to hear. People don’t want to hear that. They just want to hear more cops and think that that’s going to bring down crime. The reality is, we need more cops, for sure. We need more partnership with the ATF, the DEA, and so forth, other domestically-trained law enforcement agencies. But, overall, crime is a complex issue that’s going to require us to dig down into the root causes. I know that’s hard. I know that’s a long-term proposition, but that’s the truth.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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