Crime in Memphis is continuing to decrease, new data from the Memphis Shelby County Crime Commission showed.
The Crime Commission releases crime statistics, which it receives from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, each quarter. The statistics do not show every category of crime
, but provide an overview of major crime categories and show how overall crime compares to this time in previous years.That data shows that Memphis has reported fewer major crimes from January through the end of September since 2020. Annual crime data previously collected by The Commercial Appeal showed that, when splitting the total crime in a year four ways evenly, Memphis has reported far fewer crimes through Sept. 30 than any year since 2010 through the first
nine months of the year.
This is the second year straight Memphis has hit that benchmark, with crime at this point in 2025 being the previous low, since 2020 based on the Crime Commission numbers and since 2011 based on CA estimates.
Among the highlights of this latest batch of crime statistics is the number of reported murders so far this year. According to data released by the Crime Commission, there were 105 murders between January and September this year.
That is a 34% decrease from the same time frame in 2025, during which time Memphis reported 159 murders.
Crime dropped in every category reported by the Crime Commission except for simple assaults and narcotic violations. Simple assaults, which include harming someone without using an object or weapon, are up 2.7% this year, and narcotic violations are up 16.8%.
In total, the data released by the Crime Commission reflects a 21.2% decrease in overall crime between 2025 and 2026. When comparing the number of overall crimes committed to 2023, when Memphis last peaked with crime, the city showed a nearly 41% decline.
Lucas Finton covers crime, policing, jails, the courts and criminal justice policy for The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached by phone or email: (901)208-3922 and Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com, and followed on X @LucasFinton.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis crime continues to decline to new lows, new data shows
