With the recent outbreak of gun violence in Memphis, one might assume that crime is on the rise, and that teenagers are doing most of the killing and their victims are mainly other teens.
But according to data presented by Keeisha Kenan of the Joint Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, both of those assumptions would be wrong.
โOur youth are not committing the murders and homicides,โ Kenan told dozens of concerned Memphians at a recent Safer Memphis 365 gathering at Riverside Missionary Baptist Church. โWhat they are doing, honestly, is theyโre breaking into your cars, and theyโre looking for your guns.โ
According to the data, between 2022 and 2024, more than 6,100 firearms were reported stolen out of vehicles in Memphis โ often from legal gunowners who left them unsecured. In 2023 alone, that number was 1,615.
And while homicide numbers are trending downward so far in 2025, the fear on the streets โ and the trauma โ is still very real.
That tension is what brought community members, activists, elected officials and even a former NBA star together for the latest Safer Memphis 365 work session โ part town hall, part strategy lab and part family meeting.
Among those in attendance was former Memphis Grizzlies star Tony Allen, whose message hit just as hard as his on-court defense.
โMy heart is in this work,โ Allen said. โI come from Chicago โ housing authority kid. Dad wasnโt around. Single parent household. And I knew walking outside my door in that type of environment, one of three things would happen: either I was gonna get shot; shoot somebody; or do something thatโs gonna land me in jail. And I hate those options for my community.โ
Allen said he wants to extend his contribution to Memphis beyond his time on the court. “My heart is in this work,” he said. โI’m done playing basketball. I can use my platform to enhance awareness.”
What is Safer Memphis 365?
Unveiled last year as a one-of-its-kind cooperative effort, the Joint Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement launched Safer Memphis 365 to bring together data, strategy and grassroots insight.
According to Deputy Director Tamika Williams, the work is structured around a six-phase model that includes community input, pilot programs, and ultimately, a replicable framework for violence reduction.
โCommunity is not just organizations โ itโs people with big hearts and willing hands,โ Williams said. โYou come from different parts of town, so you know what your community needs. We want to partner with you to build the right projects in the right places.โ
What the data says
Kenan drilled through some of the eveningโs most eye-opening statistics โ many of which challenged common public narratives:
- Only 9.6% of homicide suspects in Memphis are under 18.
They kill less, but steal a lot of guns. - The real danger zone? Ages 18 to 34.
According to the data, 63.9% of homicide suspects and 53.3% of victims fall in that age range. โThose are the high-risk individuals in our city,โ she said. โTheyโre the ones who are both the victims and the perpetrators.โ - Between 2022 and 2024, more than 6,100 guns were reported stolen from vehicles โ often left unsecured by their owners.
โYouโre wondering why theyโre breaking into your cars?โ Kenan asked. โBecause youโre leaving guns improperly secured, and these are the guns ending up in the wrong hands.โ - Domestic violence is rising โ particularly in the City of Memphis, even as it falls in surrounding suburbs.
โWeโre seeing progress, but weโve got to keep pushing,โ she said. โBecause if you donโt believe what you hear, believe what you see โ data drives solutions.โ
Street-level truths and community-born solutions
While the group session echoed with applause and policy talk, the real work unfolded in smaller rooms where attendees rolled up their sleeves to confront Memphisโ most entrenched challenges. In these Safer Memphis 365 breakout groups, data met real-life experience, and people told the truth.
In the youth-focused session, one man delivered a gut-punch of a reality: Some shootings in Memphis arenโt random โ theyโre hit.
โThere can be $50,000 out there on someoneโs head,โ he said. โSometimes, when they get out of jail, they donโt need a hug. They need a chunk of money and a go-bag. Because if they stay in town, theyโre not gonna make it.โ
Another concern surfaced around mental health and reentry. While incarcerated individuals may have access to psychiatric meds; they often leave jail with just a 30-day supply and no follow-up care.
โNow theyโre out here, no meds, no food and wandering,โ one speaker said. โAnd that turns into a crime problem.โ
In the โEnd the Silenceโ group on domestic violence, participants identified barriers like stigma, housing shortages, and the failure to recognize abuse before it escalates. Suggested solutions included after-hours emergency housing, trauma-informed education in schools, and grassroots support from churches, barbershops and fraternities โ places people already trust. Across the room, someone scribbled the need for healing spaces, not just shelters.
Meanwhile, the โNeighbors Protecting Neighborsโ circle focused on blight, distrust and lack of awareness. They proposed community cleanups led by youth, resource fairs, and even a printed booklet of programs and contacts โ โsomething real folks can hold in their hand,โ one participant said.
The โEmpowering Youthโ group echoed the urgency: Young people need safe spaces, trauma-informed adults and consistency from the systems around them. One handwritten note summed it up:
โKnow your neighbor. It starts there.โ
Still, there was concern that key voices were missing.
โThem people in there, they ainโt the ones out here in the streets,โ said one street-level organizer. โThe people they need in there ainโt there.โ
Cooper-Sutton: Data alone wonโt fix problems
Among the public officials present, Memphis City Councilwoman Yolanda Cooper-Sutton reminded attendees that statistics must be paired with lived knowledge.
โData is always important. Memphis is a data-driven city and data helps us understand what weโre lacking and what we need to meet in the middle,โ she said. โBut I also 100% agree with boots on the ground. The community knows where the guns are. They know where the problem houses are.โ
She also pointed to the thousands of stolen guns mentioned earlier in the night.
โIโm not against gun ownership,โ she said. โBut when you donโt properly handle your gun and secure it the way it should be, I have a problem with that.โ
One Team, One Goal
For Allen, the solutions donโt live in spreadsheets or speeches alone โ they live in the streets, the gyms, the sanctuaries, and yes, the breakout rooms. They live in the willingness to show up.
โI love it,โ Allen said in a post-event interview. โWe all have the same mindset, or we should. I want to see more of these. And I want to see us bringing in the people causing the havoc, sitting them down and letting them hear just how much hardship theyโre putting on the rest of us.โ
