MEMPHIS, TN (abc24.com) - Memphis Mayor A C Wharton is calling an audible on the way the Memphis Police Department handles crime, particularly home burglaries.
When Mayor Wharton heard Memphis has more than 760 residential break-ins a month, he said the MPD needs to break up some things it's doing to tackle the problem. Now police aren't too happy about Wharton's input.
The number of home burglaries in Memphis this year has everyone alarmed. Even Mayor Wharton said his home has been burglarized before.
Wharton's solution, "We're gonna have to look at realigning resources and making sure police are doing things where they are really needed," he said.
The safety and security the citizens of Memphis should feel in their homes are very important to him, he said, but right now Memphians don't feel safe or secure.
"When you start robbing a man or woman of his castle, your sense of security, cleanliness is gone," Wharton stated. "Then that starts to eat away at the very foundation of what the government is supposed to do."
Memphis Police Association President Michael Williams agrees that realignment should happen. But as for what Mayor Wharton should do, "I think he should be focused on the business of the city, let the police director focus on the crime rate," Williams said, "We need to allow the director the ability to realign some things to focus on some things that need to be done."
Both men do agree on one thing, something needs to be done about the break-ins.
Williams asserted, "We can say all day long we need to refocus resources, but we need to give the director the levity to assess the situation and deploy officers as he sees fit to be able to serve this city."
Wharton said stopping home burglaries are his number one priority. He intends to speak with Police Director Toney Armstrong and the Memphis City Council to work out a game plan to keep thieves out of your home.
