Shelby County accepts $4.17M VCIF and $269K U.S. Marshals grants to support SAFE task force operations

The Shelby County Board of Commissioners voted to accept two grants tied to the Memphis SAFE Task Force: $268,973 from the U.S. Marshals Service to reimburse overtime costs and $4,167,691 from the Tennessee Violent Crime Intervention Fund (VCIF) for food, clothing and facility-related readiness to handle rising detainee populations.

Sheriff's Office staff told commissioners the U.S. Marshals funds are primarily overtime reimbursements. Alicia Lindsey, the sheriff's chief administrative officer, said through Nov. 14 the office had incurred about $237,000 in overtime related to task force activity and the federal grant would cover the remainder of the $268,973 allocation. On the state grant, staff explained approximately $2.25 million would go to detainee food and the remainder toward materials and facilities upgrades to accommodate detainee transfers and overflow. Lindsey said some detainees have been relocated to other nearby facilities and that preparations (lighting, fencing, toilets) may be needed in sites being used.

Several commissioners voiced concerns that the VCIF dollars, while intended to support intervention work, were being used for detention logistics (food and housing) rather than upstream prevention; they urged that future grant requests focus on intervention and prevention programs whenever possible. The grants were approved after motions to suspend rules and were recorded in the minutes.