Tennessee DA Restructures Office to Fight Gun Crime

Shelby County District Attorney Bill Gibbons is restructuring his Tennessee office to enhance efforts aimed at curbing gang violence, gun crime, and drug trafficking, WMC- TV 5 Memphis reported Sept. 15.

The district attorney's office will merge several of its major units into the Gang and Narcotics Prosecution Unit. The reorganization into one unit allows for a more coordinated focus on crime.

"In our community, we can't separate gang violence, gun crime, and drug trafficking. Most of our violent crime is caused by the deadly combination of these three factors," said Gibbons. "The merged unit will help us take a more focused, coordinated approach to the street terrorism we are up against."

The new Gang and Narcotics Prosecution Unit would be responsible for prosecuting gang-related and drug cases that meet the office's criteria for special handling; responding to civil nuisance actions relating to gangs, drug activity, and violence; managing the Drug Dealer Eviction Program and drug-dealer eviction cases; overseeing cases covered by the office's crackdown on illegal gun possession; and monitoring all cases in the district attorney's office involving identifiable gang members.

Although there has been a decline in the number of violent crimes reported in Shelby County, including the city of Memphis, over the past seven years, the city has experienced a 30-percent increase in business robberies from 2002 to 2003.

Source: www.jointogether.org