In a move toward bolstering community safety, Memphis Mayor Paul Young and Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris have announced the formation of a Joint Office of Neighborhood Safety & Engagement – a strategic and collaborative initiative aimed at streamlining the city and county’s safety-related programming. The new office, announced earlier today, is a byproduct of inter-municipal cooperation, outlined in an official statement from the mayors – a refreshing deviation from the norm where city and county entities have traditionally worked in isolation.
Breaking down bureaucratic silos, this office is set to be led by Valerie Matthews as the Director and Tamika Williams as her deputy. According to
the city’s official press release
, consolidation is at the heart of a new safety infrastructure where the office will assume an operational residence in the County’s Division of Community Services. Within these walls, the team’s first agenda every day is to ‘reduce crime and restore peace’ in the words of Mayor Young.
Furthermore, this office will employ data-driven strategies and approaches outside of the traditional criminal justice system to address violence, especially in communities disproportionately affected by trauma. Quantitative insights are poised to guide resource allocation, intervention focus, and the continuous evolution of strategy and program operations. “Our community is ready for a change, and that change will require an innovative and focused approach,”
stated Memphis Mayor Paul Young
, emphasizing the readiness and need for transformative strategies.
Months of collaboration with non-profit organizations have culminated in the conception of this joint office, as articulated by Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris. In a statement obtained by the city’s press release, Harris outlines the joint office as a “centralizing hub” for the coordination of gun violence intervention efforts, tasked with teaching best practices and advising on the effective allocation of public funds. Acknowledging the magnitude of present endeavors, the joint office is seen as a catalyst to enhance and multiply individual outcomes through unity.
The Joint Office isn’t intended to replace or overshadow existing community-based programs and leaders. Rather, as Sandy Bromley, Director of the Division of Community Services for Shelby County, communicated, the goal is to collaborate and harness shared resilience, strength, and effort to heal and rebuild in the wake of violence. With more than two decades of work alongside victims of crime, Bromley’s insight draws upon the real human power to overcome tragedy and prevent violence’s far-reaching impact.
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