The Memphis Police Department is short-staffed and everybody knows it. What fewer people are talking about is what that shortage is doing to the private security market across Shelby County.
MPD is authorized for roughly 2,300 sworn officers. The department currently operates with fewer than 2,000. Some internal estimates put the active number closer to 1,900 when you account for officers on leave, in training, or working administrative assignments. That’s a gap of 400 or more officers between what the city has budgeted and what’s actually patrolling the streets.
Chief Cerelyn “CJ” Davis acknowledged the problem when she took command in June 2021. Her department set a goal of pushing staffing from around 2,100 to 2,500. A year in, the numbers have moved in the wrong direction. Officers are leaving faster than the academy can replace them.
This isn’t a Memphis-only story. Police departments across the country are struggling with recruitment and retention. Seattle, Portland, New Orleans, Minneapolis. The list of cities losing officers grows every quarter. A 2021 survey by the Police Executive Research Forum found that resignations at departments nationwide increased 18% over the prior year, while retirements rose 45%. The post-2020 reckoning around policing, combined with better-paying opportunities in the private sector, has created a staffing crisis with no clear end date.
For Memphis specifically, the consequences are showing up in response times and resource allocation. And that’s creating a market shift that private security companies haven’t seen in decades.
Where the Officers Aren’t
When a police department loses a quarter of its workforce, it doesn’t cut evenly. Patrol divisions take the first hit. Specialty units get protected because they handle the most violent cases. That’s a rational decision from a law enforcement standpoint, and it’s exactly what’s happened with MPD.
The SCORPION unit (Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods) launched in October 2021 to target violent crime in specific hot spots. Mayor Jim Strickland championed the initiative, pointing to 566 arrests in its first three months, including 390 felony arrests and the seizure of 253 weapons. Those numbers came from pulling experienced officers into a concentrated anti-violence effort.
That reallocation means fewer patrol cars answering routine calls. Business owners in Midtown, Downtown, and East Memphis tell me that non-emergency response times have stretched considerably. A restaurant owner on Madison Avenue said he waited over three hours for an officer to respond to a break-in last month. “The alarm went off, they got in through the back window, took the register and two bottles of liquor,” he said. “I called 911 at 4 a.m. The officer showed up around 7:15.”
That timeline isn’t unusual. When violent crime consumes the available officers, property crime reports go to the bottom of the stack. Shoplifting, car break-ins, trespassing, vandalism: these calls still get logged, and officers still respond eventually. The word “eventually” is doing heavy lifting in that sentence.
The Private Sector Fills the Gap
Here’s the part that matters for the security industry: Memphis businesses aren’t waiting for MPD to rebuild. They’re buying their own protection.
I’ve spoken with security company operators across the metro area over the past two months. Every single one reports increased demand in 2022 compared to the same period last year. Some are turning away contracts because they can’t hire fast enough. The irony is thick. The same labor market pressures squeezing MPD are also making it harder for private firms to find qualified guards. The difference is that private companies can adjust pay faster than a city government tied to budget cycles.
A Midtown business district that includes restaurants, retail shops, and a yoga studio on Cooper Street pooled money in early 2022 to hire a private patrol company for evening and weekend coverage. The cost split comes to about $800 per month per business. “We got tired of calling 911 and getting a report number three days later,” one of the business owners told me. “At least now there’s someone here who can walk the block.”
Downtown Memphis has seen a similar pattern. Office buildings along Front Street and Main Street that previously relied on MPD presence are adding security guards to their lobbies and parking garages. The Downtown Memphis Commission has been encouraging property owners to invest in private security as part of broader efforts to maintain the district’s appeal to tenants and visitors.
East Memphis is no different. Medical offices, law firms, and retail centers along the Poplar Avenue corridor have been adding guard posts and mobile patrol contracts throughout 2022. One property management company handling six commercial buildings told me they’ve increased their security spending by 35% this year.
What This Means for the Industry
The private security industry in Tennessee was already growing before MPD’s staffing crisis accelerated. The national market has been on a steady upward trajectory for years, with annual growth rates that outpace most service industries. Memphis is now providing a concentrated version of a trend visible in urban markets nationwide.
Three dynamics are playing out simultaneously:
Increased demand. More businesses want security services than there are companies to provide them. Property managers who never considered hiring guards are requesting proposals. Residential communities in areas like Cordova and Bartlett are exploring private patrol options that used to be reserved for gated subdivisions in Germantown.
Rising pricing power. When demand exceeds supply, prices go up. Security companies in Memphis are raising their hourly rates, and clients are paying without much pushback because the alternative — relying on an overstretched police department — isn’t acceptable. One company owner told me he’s raised his base rate twice since January and hasn’t lost a single contract. “My clients understand the market,” he said. “They see the same news I do.”
Talent competition. Private security companies and MPD are fishing from the same labor pool. Young candidates who might have considered a career in policing five years ago are now looking at private security as a more stable, less politically charged option. The pay gap between entry-level MPD officers and experienced private security guards has narrowed. When you add in overtime demands, rotating shifts, and the physical danger of police work in a city with 346 homicides last year, the math starts to favor private employment for a lot of people.
The SCORPION Effect
It’s worth examining what the SCORPION unit’s focus means for businesses dealing with property crime, because the connection is direct.
SCORPION targets violent offenders in high-crime areas. That’s important work, and the arrest numbers suggest it’s producing results. Homicide rates in 2022 appear to be tracking below the 2021 pace, which saw 346 killings. If the unit is playing a role in that decline, it’s hard to argue against the allocation.
The trade-off is that property crime gets proportionally less enforcement attention. Auto theft, commercial burglary, shoplifting, and catalytic converter theft are all running hot in 2022. These crimes aren’t just statistics for business owners. Each one is a direct financial hit: lost inventory, damaged property, increased insurance premiums, and reduced foot traffic when customers feel unsafe.
When MPD can’t respond quickly to these incidents, business owners reach a predictable conclusion. They hire someone who will. The private security guard standing in a parking lot at 10 p.m. isn’t going to solve violent crime. That’s not the point. The point is deterrence for the lower-level offenses that MPD no longer has the bandwidth to prevent.
Recruitment Wars
The competition for security personnel deserves its own section because it’s reshaping compensation across the Memphis market.
MPD has tried multiple approaches to boost recruitment. The department has lowered some hiring barriers, offered signing bonuses, and expanded its recruiting footprint beyond Tennessee. Director Davis has spoken publicly about the need to make Memphis competitive with suburban departments that offer better pay and lower risk.
Germantown and Collierville police departments, which cover safer jurisdictions with substantially lower call volumes, pull candidates away from MPD regularly. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and Tennessee Highway Patrol also compete for the same applicants.
Private security companies add another layer of competition. A guard position at an East Memphis corporate campus pays $18 to $22 per hour, involves minimal physical danger, and doesn’t require someone to work rotating shifts in the most violent neighborhoods in the city. An entry-level MPD officer makes roughly $42,000 to $46,000 per year and faces risks that have been national news for two years running.
Some companies are getting creative. I’ve heard of firms offering tuition reimbursement, flexible scheduling for students, and rapid advancement tracks to attract younger workers. One company started a referral bonus program that pays current employees $500 for each successful hire.
What Comes Next
The staffing shortfall at MPD isn’t going to resolve quickly. Rebuilding a police force takes years, not months. Recruits need to apply, pass background checks, complete the academy, and then spend months in field training before they’re independent patrol officers. Even if MPD hits its recruitment targets starting tomorrow, it would take until 2024 or 2025 to close the gap.
That timeline gives the private security industry in Memphis a runway of sustained demand. Companies that can hire, train, and deploy qualified personnel will find more business than they can handle. Companies that can’t scale will lose contracts to competitors who can.
My concern is quality. When demand outstrips supply, standards can slip. Guard companies may rush training to fill posts. Background screening might get less thorough. Officers with marginal qualifications might get deployed to high-responsibility sites.
The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance regulates private security through the Private Protective Services division. They set minimum training requirements and handle licensing. Those standards exist for a reason, and the current market pressure is a test of whether the industry can grow without cutting corners.
Memphis businesses deserve reliable protection whether it comes from MPD or the private sector. Right now, they’re increasingly paying for it twice — through taxes that fund a depleted police department and through contracts with private firms that fill the gap. That’s an expensive reality.
Marcus Johnson is the Senior Editor of Memphis Security Insider. He covers security industry trends and public safety policy across the Memphis metro area.