Three months into 2022, Memphis is still dealing with the fallout of a record-shattering 2021. Last year’s 346 homicides broke the previous record of 332 set in 2020, and the violence hasn’t eased up. Chief CJ Davis and the Memphis Police Department are banking heavily on the SCORPION unit to reverse the trend. Whether that bet pays off is a question that matters to every resident, business owner, and private security operator in this city.
What SCORPION Actually Does
SCORPION stands for Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods. The unit launched in November 2021 with roughly 40 officers split across four teams. Their mission is straightforward: flood high-crime areas with officers, make traffic stops, look for guns and stolen vehicles, and arrest people committing violent crimes. The teams focus on specific hotspot zones rather than responding to 911 calls. They use unmarked cars. They operate mostly at night.
Mayor Jim Strickland promoted the unit during his January 2022 State of the City address. The numbers he cited were striking. Between October 2021 and January 23, 2022, SCORPION officers had made 566 arrests. Nearly 400 of those were felony arrests. They seized $103,000 in cash, 270 vehicles, and 253 weapons. For a unit of 40 officers working less than three months, those are attention-getting numbers.
The question I keep coming back to: are those numbers translating into safer streets?
The Neighborhoods Feeling It Most
If you drive through Hickory Hill on a Friday night, you’ll notice more police presence than you did a year ago. SCORPION teams have been rotating through the area regularly, running traffic stops along Winchester Road and Hickory Hill Road. The same goes for parts of Frayser, where officers have been setting up along North Watkins and Thomas Street. Whitehaven and Orange Mound are also on the rotation.
These aren’t random choices. MPD crime data shows these neighborhoods consistently rank among the highest for aggravated assaults, shootings, and auto thefts. Frayser in particular has dealt with a concentration of violent incidents along the James Road corridor for years. Hickory Hill’s commercial strips along Hickory Hill Road have seen repeated armed robberies targeting small businesses.
Orange Mound, one of the oldest African American neighborhoods in the country, has watched violent crime creep upward despite decades of community investment. The SCORPION unit has been running operations in the neighborhood, targeting a cluster of shootings near Lamar Avenue and Park Avenue.
In Whitehaven, the unit has focused on the Elvis Presley Boulevard corridor and surrounding residential blocks. Gas stations and convenience stores along that stretch have been frequent robbery targets. Several business owners I’ve spoken with say they’ve noticed more patrol activity since late 2021, though opinions vary on whether it’s making a lasting difference.
Reading the Numbers Carefully
Let’s talk about what those 566 arrests actually tell us. An arrest isn’t a conviction. An arrest during a traffic stop for an outstanding warrant is different from catching someone in the act of committing a violent crime. MPD hasn’t broken down the arrest figures in enough detail for anyone outside the department to know what percentage of those 566 arrests directly involved violent offenses versus warrants, drug possession, or vehicle theft.
The 253 weapons seized is a meaningful number. Getting illegal guns off the street does reduce the chances of those specific firearms being used in a shooting. The 270 vehicles recovered matters too, especially given Memphis’s car theft problem. Juvenile carjackings have been surging. FOX13 reported in March 2022 that 72 percent of carjacking arrests in 2022 so far involved juveniles, up from 56 percent in 2021. Those are alarming numbers that the SCORPION unit alone can’t fix.
What we don’t have yet is reliable data showing that violent crime has actually dropped in the specific areas where SCORPION operates. Homicides in the first quarter of 2022 are running at a pace that, if sustained, would put the city near 300 again by year’s end. Aggravated assaults remain elevated. The honest assessment is that it’s too early to declare victory.
What This Means for Private Security
Memphis’s crime problem isn’t just a law enforcement issue. It’s a private security issue too. Every armed robbery at a Hickory Hill strip mall, every carjacking in a Whitehaven parking lot, every shooting near a Frayser warehouse creates demand for security guards, patrol services, and surveillance systems.
Private security companies working in Memphis have been stretched thin for the past two years. The ones I’ve talked to describe a market where client demand has outpaced their ability to recruit and train qualified guards. A security firm that could staff 50 armed officers a year ago now has requests for 80. The labor pool hasn’t grown to match.
Part of the reason is competition. MPD itself has been struggling with officer retention. When the department is short-staffed, the remaining officers get burned out. Some leave for private sector jobs. Some leave law enforcement entirely. That turnover ripples through the entire security industry.
The SCORPION unit’s presence in high-crime zones creates an interesting dynamic for private security operators. On one hand, more police activity in an area can reduce the overall threat level, making a guard’s job somewhat safer. On the other hand, when SCORPION teams flood one neighborhood, criminal activity sometimes shifts to adjacent areas where police presence is lighter. A private security company running patrols in those adjacent zones might see an uptick in incidents right when they’re least prepared for it.
Several security directors at Memphis-based firms have told me they’re adjusting their deployment patterns based on where SCORPION is operating on any given week. If SCORPION is saturating Hickory Hill, security companies with clients in Raleigh or Cordova pay closer attention. It’s a cat-and-mouse game, and the private sector is learning to read the same crime maps that MPD uses.
The Staffing Squeeze
Here’s a number that doesn’t get enough attention: MPD’s authorized strength is around 2,300 officers. The actual number on the street is lower. Retirements, resignations, and difficulty recruiting have left the department below capacity. Chief Davis has acknowledged the staffing challenge publicly.
When police departments run short, private security picks up the slack. Hospitals hire more guards. Warehouses add overnight patrols. Apartment complexes bring in armed officers. Retailers that used to rely on off-duty police details find those officers are no longer available because they’re pulling mandatory overtime.
This creates a cycle. Demand for private security goes up. Wages for guards go up. Training pipelines struggle to keep pace because the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance requires specific training and background checks before someone can work as an armed guard. You can’t just hire someone off the street and hand them a gun. The licensing process takes weeks, sometimes months when background check processing slows down.
For companies operating in neighborhoods like Frayser and Orange Mound, the calculus is straightforward. Their clients need coverage now. The crime data says the risk is real. Finding qualified people to fill those posts is the bottleneck.
An Honest Assessment
The SCORPION unit is doing what it was designed to do: make arrests, seize weapons, and create a visible police presence in dangerous areas. Those are valid law enforcement tactics. The early numbers are impressive on paper.
What they haven’t done yet is prove that saturation policing can reverse a multi-year trend of rising violence in a city with deep structural problems. Poverty, lack of economic opportunity, a strained court system that cycles offenders back onto the street quickly, and a youth violence crisis driven by kids who see no path forward are all factors that 40 officers in unmarked cars can’t address.
I’ve covered Memphis crime for years. The pattern is familiar. A new initiative launches with strong political support. The early numbers look good. City leaders point to arrests and seizures as proof of progress. Then, over time, the metrics get harder to maintain, the attention fades, and the underlying conditions reassert themselves.
Maybe SCORPION breaks that pattern. The unit has capable officers and a clear mandate from city leadership. Chief Davis is a serious law enforcement professional who understands the limitations of policing alone. Mayor Strickland’s political capital is tied to making Memphis safer.
For now, the private security industry in Memphis should plan as if violent crime will remain elevated through 2022. Staff accordingly. Train your people. Know the neighborhoods. And watch the SCORPION data carefully, because where those officers go and what they find will shape the threat environment for every security operation in this city.
Marcus Johnson is the Senior Editor of Memphis Security Insider. He has covered crime and public safety in the Memphis metro area for over a decade.