A crime-fighting task force launched at President Donald Trump’s direction has made thousands of arrests in Memphis, Tennessee, intensifying pressure on the city’s courts and on a jail that was already beyond capacity. Local officials warn the ripple effects could take months—or even years—to unwind as cases move through the system.
Since late September, the Memphis Safe Task Force—made up of hundreds of federal, state, and local officers, along with National Guard support—has carried out traffic stops, served warrants, and pursued fugitives across the city of roughly 610,000 residents. Task force data and Memphis police records show more than 2,800 arrests and over 28,000 traffic citations in that span.
Backers of the operation, including Republican Gov. Bill Lee, say the surge aims to curb violence in a city that recorded nearly 300 homicides last year and close to 400 in 2023. According to AH Datalytics’ Real-Time Crime Index, homicides in Memphis rose 33% and aggravated assaults climbed 41% between 2018 and 2024. The group also reported that those figures were down about 20% during the first nine months of this year—before the task force began its work.
Critics in majority-Black Memphis argue the initiative disproportionately targets minorities and has fueled fear among law-abiding Latino residents. Some community members say they’ve avoided work, church, and local businesses because they worry about being stopped or detained. Task force figures released in late October showed 319 arrests on administrative warrants tied to immigration matters.
Strain spreads to courts and jail
The impact hasn’t stayed on the streets. Officials say the aging courthouse and the troubled Shelby County Jail are now absorbing the shock. Long lines in traffic court are causing people to miss work, and clogged criminal dockets are delaying bail hearings—meaning more people stay incarcerated longer than necessary.
“The human cost of it is astounding,” said Josh Spickler, executive director of Just City, a Memphis group focused on criminal-justice fairness.
Shelby County leaders have asked for more judges, warning that the swelling caseload could linger for years. They’re also discussing expanded court hours, including nights and weekends, though that would increase costs.
At the jail, overcrowding has forced officials to move detainees to other facilities. People arriving at intake have reportedly been sleeping in chairs, and the sheriff’s office is seeking emergency funding amid staffing shortages and rising operational expenses.
Activists and officials say overcrowding also compounds safety concerns at a jail that has recorded 65 deaths since 2019, according to Just City. District Attorney Steve Mulroy said mounting backlogs risk unfair delays for both defendants and victims.
“The task force deployment probably could have used more planning,” said Mulroy, a Democrat whose office is cooperating with the operation. “More thought could have been put into the downstream effects of the increased arrest numbers.”
Jail officials ask for help
County statistics show jail bookings and bail hearings jumped about 40% during the task force’s early weeks compared with the same period last year.
Shelby County Jail, built for 2,400 people, averaged 3,195 inmates per day in September—the latest month available. Officials expect October’s numbers to be higher.
By mid-November, about 250 overflow detainees were housed in other facilities, up from about 80 at the same time last year. Some were sent outside Shelby County, complicating attorney visits and family contact and increasing transport costs for court appearances.
Chief Jailer Kirk Fields has asked county commissioners for at least $1.5 million in emergency funds to cover added costs for food, clothing, bedding, and other essentials.
Courts scramble to keep up
Mulroy said the shortage of judges is a major bottleneck, especially after lawmakers eliminated two judgeships last year.
On Oct. 31, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris wrote to state court leaders requesting additional judges, saying the county is bracing for 3,500 to 5,000 arrests overall. He warned that more arrests could drive up jail spending and require more public defenders, prosecutors, and corrections staff.
“This places Shelby County in extreme financial peril,” Harris wrote.
The Tennessee Supreme Court replied that trial judges did not believe new judgeships were necessary yet, but two senior judges have been assigned as backup if workloads continue rising.
Gov. Lee said the state is still evaluating next steps. “Part of it is understanding just what the cadence is going to look like over the next few months and then developing a strategy,” he said earlier this month.
County officials are exploring Saturday sessions, a few nights of “night court” each week, and even a surrender clinic for people facing misdemeanor warrants to clear minor cases more efficiently.
Mulroy’s office is also reviewing whether holding people in low-level cases is warranted. If someone isn’t a danger or flight risk and is jailed only because they can’t afford bail, he said prosecutors may reconsider detention.
Task force says results show progress
Ryan Guay, a U.S. Marshals Service spokesperson for the task force, said the arrest count reflects strong enforcement.
“We recognize that this success places additional demands on the broader criminal justice system, including courts and detention facilities,” Guay told The Associated Press.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons has said it will provide a satellite prison camp for the task force’s use, to be overseen by the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office has not disclosed the site’s location, citing operational security.
