MEMPHIS MAYOR PAUL YOUNG’S CRIME CRISIS: IN MEMPHIS, 56% OF ARRESTS ARE DISMISSED — AS MILLIONS IN CRIME PREVENTION GRANTS GO TO INSIDERS WITHOUT COMPETITION
By The Shelby County Observer Investigative Team on May 7, 2025
MEMPHIS, TN — The data is devastating. According to Memphis Crime Beat — a nonprofit organization working closely with the Memphis Police Department to track public safety trends — 56% of all arrests made in Memphis during 2024 were dismissed. That means that of more than 19,000 arrests, over 10,000 criminal suspects were set free — without a trial, conviction, or jail time.
These statistics were revealed publicly and discussed at the May 6, 2025 City Council meeting, where councilmembers expressed alarm and disbelief.
“There is a cloud over the judicial system,” warned Councilwoman Rhonda Logan.
Memphis Police Chief CJ Davis echoed these concerns, calling the system’s breakdown troubling.
“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,” Davis said.
Crime Beat Director Leslie Taylor said repeat offenders have overwhelmed the system, and that her group cannot even get basic data from courts about why arrests are being dismissed.
“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,” Taylor said.
But while crime victims and the public cry for answers, one man appears unfazed — Memphis Mayor Paul Young.
Despite the collapse of the justice process and skyrocketing violent crime, Young’s administration has quietly engaged in an outrageous and deeply troubling scheme: steering millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded crime intervention grants directly to political friends and allies—without issuing a single citywide public Request for Proposal (RFP).
While legitimate nonprofit agencies, churches, and community groups were given no opportunity to present proposals or compete, Young and his insiders selected preferred recipients behind closed doors.
This blatant exclusion of the public and diversion of funds raises serious ethical and legal questions.
The grants were ostensibly intended to prevent crime — yet they became political slush funds handed out without scrutiny.
As Chief Executive of the city, Paul Young bears ultimate responsibility.
He controls the budget. He sets administrative policies. He signs contracts. His hands are directly on the wheel. And yet, while shootings soar and repeat offenders cycle through the courts, he diverted anti-crime funds into the pockets of his political allies.
The consequences have been catastrophic:
- 56% of arrests dismissed in 2024 — more than 10,000 suspects released
- City police voicing frustration and confusion about dropped charges
- Court systems described as a “black hole” by public data experts
- No RFP process for crime prevention grants — blocking legitimate groups from applying
- Millions quietly funneled to insiders while citizens beg for solutions
In a city desperate for real leadership, Memphis got politics and pay-to-play favoritism instead.
“This isn’t just failure — this is engineered dysfunction,” said one city of Memphis insider privately after the hearing.
Public safety is not a game. Nor should it be a scheme.
Who else is responsible? The evidence points directly to a trio of failed leadership:
- Mayor Paul Young, whose self-dealing grants to friends and whose refusal to confront rampant corruption and collapse has turned City Hall into an epicenter of dysfunction. He controls the budget. He manages public safety coordination. He sets the tone. And in the most galling abuse of power to date, Young has quietly funneled millions of dollars in crime prevention grants to insiders and allies—without even issuing a public RFP process.
Police Chief C.J. Davis likewise plays a central role. While she is right to raise concerns about case dismissals, the police department bears responsibility for case quality. Dismissals often stem from weak evidence, lack of witness cooperation, or improper arrests. A competent police force should deliver airtight cases. Poor case preparation only enables defense attorneys to win dismissals with ease.
The Shelby County District Attorney’s Office, however, is equally (if not more) at fault. The DA decides what cases to prosecute. If they are dropping cases en masse without explanation or strategic prosecutorial discretion, they are signaling a failure of duty. Prosecutors are gatekeepers of accountability. When they fail, justice collapses.
Finally, the Shelby County judicial system (judges and magistrates) must also be scrutinized. Weak judicial oversight or reluctance to hold repeat offenders can erode public trust and enable crime cycles.
Yet, it is Mayor Paul Young’s failure to coordinate these branches of justice that looms largest. As mayor, he holds the bully pulpit. He controls the budget- a point his friends and insiders rejoice over. He oversees the executive branch. His abdication of responsibility — visible in every broken process and unanswered question — is perhaps the most alarming fact of all.
Memphis is living through a public safety nightmare enabled by political cowardice. When crime is rampant, corruption unchecked, and justice routinely denied, no official gets a free pass.
In a city where more than half of arrests vanish without consequences, those in power — from Mayor Paul Young, to Police Chief Davis, to DA Mulroy, to local judges — are no longer guardians of justice. They are accomplices in its destruction.
About Post Author
