Crime data: 56% of people arrested in 2024 had cases dismissed
by: Brian Didlake
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A non-profit is teaming up with the Memphis Police and requesting more information about Shelby County’s justice system.
Memphis Crime Beat, known for sharing crime-fighting data, said it can’t keep track of trends involving repeat offenders.
Police have complained about that too, saying they arrest people, only to have them back on the streets in no time.
According to Memphis Crime Beat, a little more than half of the cases reported where someone was arrested last year got dismissed.
Memphis Police are troubled by that statistic and now both parties want answers.
“There is a cloud over the judicial system from my observation in terms of getting information or being transparent,” said Memphis City Councilwoman Rhonda Logan.
Memphis City Council members said the information from Memphis Crime Beat is alarming.
It’s a non-profit working to reduce crime through sharing data, but Crime Beat said you can’t share what you don’t have and it’s having trouble getting critical information.
“As we move into the justice system, we find we’re in this black hole where we can’t find even the most basic data to better understand how our justice system is working,” said Memphis Crime Beat Executive Director Leslie Taylor.
Crime Beat reported about 111,000 crimes in 2024 and nearly 19,000 arrests.
However, of those 19,000 arrests, Crime Beat’s data shows more than half – 56 percent of those criminal suspects, were released.
No trial. No conviction. No jail time.
They were simply released.
“We don’t know the exact reasons for those dismissals,” Taylor said. “It could be that the witness doesn’t [or] isn’t available to testify. It could be they don’t have the evidence available.”
And the Chief of Police wants to know why.
“Many times those cases are dismissed without a call to the detective or the police officer who arrested the person to at least tell us why,” said MPD Chief CJ Davis.
Chief Davis said that the lack of communication from the courts can lead to repeat offenders.
“We don’t just arbitrarily charge individuals without making sure the elements of the crime are there,” Davis said. “What happens after that it’s very ambiguous.”
Your News Leader reported just last week about a man who was injured after the MATA van he was riding in was hit by three teenagers running from the police in Central Gardens.
“We could’ve been killed because of three people taking no accountability of their own – like if you get caught, just stop, just give up,” the victim said.
Court records showed 18-year-old Christopher Gray had been arrested a day earlier for stealing a car.
However, those charges were dropped.
Crime Beat said it would be easier to stop repeat offenders if it were given just the most basic data, like information about the crime, the judge on the case and how long it takes to process.
“The reason why we want it that way is because we identified metrics through the national state courts as standards of effective courtroom management,” Taylor said.
Without that information, Crime Beat said repeat offenders are overloading the system, creating a revolving door of paperwork and overextending the county jail.
Crime Beat said right now, it has about 30 court watchers monitoring the judicial process.
But they said that they need to double that number if they wish to expand operations and keep repeat offenders off the street.
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