How the Memphis Safe Task Force is controlling the narrative

Personnel from a dozen federal agencies, including the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, have been stationed in Memphis but detailed objectives are unclear. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)

In the weeks since the launch of the Memphis Safe Community Task Force, one thing has become increasingly clear: there was never a concrete public safety strategy laid out — but there is a communications strategy. Or, at least, there’s been an effective narrative machine that benefits from the absence of one.

From the very beginning, there was no public briefing that outlined how success would be measured, which agencies would lead which components, or how different arms of law enforcement and government would coordinate their work. There was no press push to demand these details either. I asked these questions directly but never received an honest or concrete response.  That vacuum left room for a dangerous sleight of hand: letting daily press releases become the story instead of the actual outcomes on the ground.

Now the U.S. Attorney General’s Office can release arrest numbers every day — neat numbers designed to sound like progress. “Five hundred and sixty two arrests and 144 illegal guns seized…” Local law enforcement saying, “1800 traffic tickets written…” The DOJ has gone as far as to state publicly that they do not have a breakdown of the numbers.  

Nevertheless, headlines are produced. Press conferences are staged. The story is repeated.

But since this information is not being disaggregated, we don’t know who’s being arrested. We don’t know for what. We don’t know if those arrests have any actual relationship to violent crime trends. We don’t know what happens to those cases after the flashing lights fade. And we don’t know what other resources — violence prevention dollars, intervention programs, community-based safety strategies — are being displaced or defunded while the spectacle of “tough on crime” gets the spotlight.

This is classic Copaganda: emphasizing the appearance of action through law enforcement activity without ever proving its efficacy or necessity.

The numbers game

Without a concrete plan, the “numbers” become a kind of substitute policy. Arrest totals are presented as if they represent community safety. But high arrest numbers don’t automatically translate into lower crime. We’ve seen this before — here and in cities across the country.

Without context, arrest stats tell us nothing about whether the approach is working. They don’t tell us whether arrests are concentrated in Black neighborhoods. They don’t tell us whether most arrests are for serious violent offenses or low-level infractions. And they certainly don’t tell us if the communities most impacted feel any safer. But the headlines keep circulating because narrative control isn’t about telling the whole story; it’s about keeping the loudest story on repeat.

Media complicity

Local media hasn’t done a good job of contextualizing what’s happening. Instead of interrogating the data or asking tough follow-up questions, most outlets are simply relaying the daily numbers as if they’re facts that speak for themselves.

But numbers don’t speak for themselves. Numbers are framed. Numbers are used. Numbers are weaponized. Figures don’t lie. But liars do figures. 

If you strip away the headlines and the blue lights, what we have is not a comprehensive public safety strategy. It’s a public relations campaign with police power at its center. And the more these numbers are amplified without interrogation, the harder it becomes for the public to separate what’s true from what’s simply loud.

Political silence

Too many elected officials have been quiet. Not necessarily because they agree with what’s happening — but because few are willing to push back publicly on law enforcement narratives for fear of being labeled “soft on crime.”

But pressing for transparency isn’t being soft on crime. Asking for disaggregated data isn’t obstruction. Demanding a clear strategy isn’t being anti-police. It’s about accountability.

If our local leadership isn’t willing to insist on concrete metrics and transparent reporting, then the Memphis Safe Task Force will continue to operate in a kind of unchecked PR loop: action, press release, headline, repeat.

Accountability or spectacle

What should have happened from the beginning — and still can happen — is a clear articulation of strategy and accountability:

• Disaggregated reporting: Break down arrests and stops by type, charge, location, demographic, and outcome.
• Defined goals and timelines: Tell the public what “success” actually looks like.
• Independent evaluation: Don’t let the same agencies driving the operation grade their own work.
• Transparency about resource allocation: How much is being spent on enforcement versus intervention and prevention?

Public safety isn’t about how many people are stopped, searched, or arrested. It’s about whether communities are safer, healthier, and more stable. It’s about whether the root causes of harm — poverty, unemployment, lack of mental health resources, disinvestment — are being addressed with the same urgency as press conferences.

Right now, what we have is not a safety plan. It’s a spectacle. And as long as it remains a spectacle, the real problems will remain unaddressed — even as the numbers get louder.