“The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are attentive to their cry;” Psalm 34:15
We have prayed for years for peace in Memphis. We have prayed for a thriving community. We have prayed for an end to the violence. We have prayed for mothers and fathers who are grieving. We have prayed for the young people caught up in the streets to turn from a life of death and destruction to one of light. We have prayed for those shepherds and brave disciples going into the dark places to bring the good news of Jesus to be protected and hearts to be open to their message. We continue to pray for all of these things, but tonight, I want to lift up the work that has been done in Memphis over the past 6 months and the resulting decline in criminal activity. It’s wonderful. It’s a blessing. See the chart after the link to the dashboard.
This is showing a week to week comparison from the same time period of 2025 and 2026 and then you can see the continued decline starting mid-way through last year and accelerating in a decreasing trend.
Here’s motor vehicle theft, which has larger numbers but you can see how much it has fallen off on this year-to-date chart.
The city feels safer to me. This is not a post to get into the nuances of policing policy, enforcement, and the use or tactics of federal resources and agencies. It is a post to celebrate that there are less victims of crime today than there were at this time last year. For this, I am thankful. There is still work to be done.
Lord, tonight we thank you for the work being done to protect our community by local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies and the judicial system. We pray for those on the front lines identifying and arresting criminals, that you may protect them. We pray that those who have committed crimes know that their is forgiveness and redemption in You, and that they cast down their sins before You and repent. Lord, we know you care for all of Your children. We pray for calm in tense situations and we pray for those with authority to respect the dignity of the individual. We pray for life to be preserved. We pray for wisdom in sentencing and interactions with unstable individuals. May we continue to seek You Lord and share the love of Jesus with all who need to hear it. Lord, forgive us of our sins and may we turn to You. In Christ’s name, amen.