The city’s Democratic mayor, Paul Young, says the ‘decision has been made’ but he does not think it will drive down crime.
US President Donald Trump will extend federal law enforcement action to the city of Memphis, Tennessee, in a move that will include sending in National Guard troops and setting up a “Memphis State Task Force” to tackle crime, though police say overall criminal offences are at a 25-year low.
Trump announced the move in an executive order on Monday to rid Memphis of what he called the “tremendous levels of violent crime that have overwhelmed its local government’s ability to respond effectively”.
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The executive order did not set out a timeline for when the Memphis task force, which will also include the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the US Marshals Service, will be deployed.
Trump described the task force as a “replica” of his crackdown on Washington, DC, in August, according to the Associated Press news agency, which saw the US president deploy the National Guard on the streets of the US capital.
Trump has pushed for a similar military involvement in policing in Baltimore and Chicago, which, like Memphis and Washington, DC, are Democratic strongholds.
Trump’s Memphis task force has the backing of Tennessee’s Republican governor, Bill Lee, who joined Trump in the White House for the announcement.
“I have been in office for seven years. I’m tired of crime holding the great city of Memphis back,” Lee said during a signing ceremony.
In recent weeks, @POTUS has restored law & order to DC.
Today, I was proud to stand with him as he signed an order to do the same for another American city: Memphis. In 2024, Memphis had the highest rate of violent crime per capita – nearly 7 times the national average.
City by… pic.twitter.com/mrwH4cvccZ
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) September 16, 2025
Memphis’s Democratic mayor, Paul Young, said on X that he did not think deploying the National Guard would drive down crime, but “the decision has been made”.
“Yesterday morning, we learned that the Governor & President have decided to place the National Guard & other resources in Memphis, which they have the authority to do. I want to be clear: I did not ask for the National Guard and I don’t think it is the way to drive down crime,” Young said on X.
Yesterday morning, we learned that the Governor & President have decided to place the National Guard & other resources in Memphis, which they have the authority to do.
I want to be clear: I did not ask for the National Guard and I don’t think it is the way to drive down crime. pic.twitter.com/gYO2LSEtC5
— Paul Young (@mayorpaulyoung) September 13, 2025
Memphis is known globally for its music industry and its historic ties to rock and roll, soul and the blues. Last year, it reported the highest violent crime rate among US cities of 100,000 people or more, according to 2024 FBI crime data.
A review by Al Jazeera of FBI crime statistics found the rate of violent crime – which includes murder, negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault – for Memphis was 2,501 per 100,000 people in 2024. The city was followed by Oakland, California, at 1,925 per 100,000 and Detroit, Michigan, at 1,781 per 100,000 people.
Memphis police, however, say this figure does not paint a full picture of the city’s violent crime situation amid “historic crime reductions” in the first eight months of 2025.
“Overall crime is at a 25-year low, with robbery, burglary, and larceny also reaching 25-year lows. Murder is at a six-year low, aggravated assault at a five-year low, and sexual assault at a twenty-year low,” police said last week.
Despite this decline, the city reported 146 homicides so far in 2025 and 4,308 cases of aggravated assault.