Memphis' mayor is working with MPD to equip the city with an AI-powered camera network

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – Memphis Mayor Paul Young and Interim Police Chief CJ Davis say they hear your calls for a tough crackdown on crime.

After a One Memphis Town Hall in Hickory Hill on Tuesday evening, city leaders released an update about a new tool in the fight against gun violence.

The timing couldn't have been better as crime issues were the focus of the forum at the Hickory Hill Community Center.

“I'm worried about all the violence going on here in Memphis and Shelby County,” one woman told Mayor Young.

Another woman said she was afraid to leave her home.

“I can’t go outside,” she said. “I don’t want to go anywhere at night because you’re afraid to come home because you don’t know who’s standing in front of your house.”

Hickory Hill residents told Mayor Young that they are tired of gun violence in their community and beyond.

On Saturday, a tourist from England staying at a hotel on South Main downtown was caught in the middle of a shootout. A bullet grazed her head and another bullet wounded her foot.

There was a shooting outside Rafferty's on Germantown Parkway in Cordova on Monday evening. According to MPD, several cars were shot at, but there were no injuries.

The people of Memphis told Young and Chief Davis that they were simply fed up.

In response, Davis said MPD is moving its workforce to high-crime areas and busy tourist areas. She also said MPD's camera system across the city is undergoing a major upgrade.

“We're expanding the camera network,” Chief Davis told Action News 5. “We're looking forward to establishing a real-time crime center downtown.” I'll give you all a little heads up… We're working with the mayor on this and we will also help ensure better monitoring.”

“Our plan,” said the mayor, “is to equip our community with high-definition 4K cameras in which we have built artificial intelligence so that you can detect negative activity.”

Chief Davis said 200 cameras are currently being installed throughout the city. They should be operational by the end of the year.

Mayor Young said the first phase cost $3 million. The total price for the AI ​​camera network will be between $10 million and $15 million.

To residents who say something has to give, Mayor Young promised that his team would make significant progress in introducing high-tech solutions to the city's crime problem.

“Ultimately, our goal is to get criminals off the streets quickly,” said Mayor Young. “We want the people who are terrorizing our neighborhoods and communities off the streets, and we will use this technology to ensure we do that.”

Chief Davis said MPD has good leads on the shooting of hotel guests downtown and investigators are looking at additional surveillance footage from the shooting at Rafferty's in Cordova.

If you have information that can help MPD solve either case, call 901-528-CASH.

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