CITY AND COUNTY PARTNER TO LAUNCH JOINT OFFICE OF NEIGHBORHOOD SAFETY & ENGAGEMENT
Young and Harris Administrations to Collaborate on Crime Office with Community Focus
Memphis Mayor Paul Young and Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris announced today that their administrations established a Joint Office of Neighborhood Safety & Engagement. Mayor Harris has appointed Valerie Matthews as its Director, and Mayor Young has appointed Tamika Williams as Deputy Director.
The office will consolidate current city and county safety-related programming, leading to a more collaborative approach. The team will be physically housed in the County’s Division of Community Services, 160 N. Main Street.
“Our teams have already begun the work of reducing the silos that typically exist between different municipal entities and community groups,” stated Memphis Mayor Paul Young of the joint efforts. “Our community is ready for a change, and that change will require an innovative and focused approach. We want to ensure this team has the resources and framework needed to make ‘reduce crime and restore peace’ the first thing on their daily to-do list.”
The office will focus on non-traditional criminal justice system responses. The office is designed to allow both municipalities to adopt an integrated approach to violence reduction. This approach will use a data-driven strategy to impact the communities most disproportionately affected by trauma and violence. Shared data will be used to inform the allocation of resources, focus interventions, and support continuous planning and implementation cycles.
“City and County and representatives from a host of non-profit organizations have met for months in a working group setting to explore ways to expand the level of intervention we can bring to bear in instances of gun violence,” Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris said. “This new joint office is the product of that painstaking effort. We know that there is already great work happening right now, all over our community, but this new agency will be the centralizing hub for that activity. It’ll be able to coordinate the work of gun violence intervention groups, teach best practices, and give informed advice about where and how to deploy our public dollars for maximum impact.”
The Joint Office will help clarify roles and division of responsibilities. It will also facilitate the sharing of data and information to help develop strategy and program operations and identify gaps, needs, and opportunities. The Joint Office intends to work with preexisting community-based programs, organizations, individuals, and community and faith leaders who have been doing this work, while also recruiting new partners in these efforts. The framework will allow all existing entities to join together, amplifying individual results.
“I’ve worked with victims of crime for over two decades and have witnessed the amazing resilience and strength of people most impacted by crime as they rebuild their lives after tragedy. I know our community is hurting right now, and I also know that violence is not inevitable and that—together—we can work to heal and rebuild our city and county as we prevent and reduce violence and its impact on our neighbors.” – Sandy Bromley, Director of the Division of Community Services for Shelby County.
Visit our Webpage https://www.memphistn.gov/jointoffice/
Please join us for a Community-Focused Press Event:
1pm on 11/14/2024
Renasant Convention Center,
225 N Main Street, Memphis TN 38103
Main Floor Lobby
Speakers:
Greg Jackson, Deputy Director, White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention
Shantay Jackson, Director, National Offices of Violence Prevention Networks
Mayor Lee Harris
Mayor Paul Young
Valerie Matthews, Joint Office of Neighborhood Safety & Engagement
Tamika Williams, Joint Office of Neighborhood Safety & Engagement
Immediately Followed by
Courageous Conversation, Unpacking Solutions to Violence in Memphis and Shelby County.
Ballroom E
Media Inquiries, Arlenia Cole, Media Relations, City of Memphis