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Lee highlights Memphis SAFE task force, proposes $80 million in grants and 100 permanent troopers for Shelby County
Summary
Gov. Bill Lee credited the Memphis SAFE task force with steep crime reductions and said the budget would include $80 million in grants for Memphis and permanently place 100 Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers in Shelby County, while increasing statewide THP staffing toward 1,300.
In his State of the State address, Gov. Bill Lee credited the Memphis SAFE task force with reducing crime and recovering missing children and proposed targeted investments to sustain the effort.
"Crime is down 55% in Shelby County," Lee said, and he told the joint convention the task force and federal resources produced arrests and recoveries, including a newly established missing child unit led by Special Agent Emily Kiefer that the governor said recovered 146 missing children in Memphis.
To build on those results, Lee proposed $80,000,000 in grants to accelerate momentum in Memphis and said the administration would permanently place 100 Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers in Shelby County. He said the state has been adding THP positions annually and with the additional 50 proposed this year would reach 1,300 troopers.
Lee framed the proposals as statewide priorities with a concentrated investment in a city that has long struggled with violent crime. The joint convention did not vote on these proposals; any funding or staffing changes will require passage through the budget and appropriations process.
