MEMPHIS, Tenn. — On Monday, April 3, the Justice & Safety Alliance (JSA) sent an open letter to the local elected (and some appointed) officials who sit on the nonprofit board of the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission (MSCC), urging them to step down and avoid conflicts of interest that could unduly influence their official service to the residents of Memphis and Shelby County. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The MSCC often presents and lobbies its viewpoint to public officials and bodies as a unilateral body. These viewpoints have traditionally been led by the particular perspective of MSCC staff leadership, as might be expected from an \u201cindependent, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.\u201d By serving on the board, elected officials and justice-related appointees, whose offices would be greatly impacted by the MSCC\u2019s recommendations, imply that they agree with and condone the Crime Commission\u2019s views. This can limit the fair exchange of ideas as different viewpoints are expressed, which allows the MSCC an outsized position in the public discourse. The presence of decision-making officials on the nonprofit\u2019s board directly contradicts the democratic principle that an elected official works for and represents ALL of the community they serve, instead of just one segment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Crime Commission positions itself as fully representative of the community with an implied view that it is a public\/private entity, when fundamentally, it is a nonprofit that supports an agenda that does not represent the interests of our entire community. There has been an implication that the MSCC presents objective data, research, and recommendations, when in reality, the nonprofit has traditionally presented data, \u2018research,\u2019 and recommendations that support their ideological perspective, which clearly prioritizes increasing incarceration and policing.\u201d said Cardell Orrin, a representative of JSA. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The partner organizations of the JSA represent justice-impacted communities, young people, families, educators, faith leaders and practitioners, legal professionals, and workers. Together, we are formally asking the following elected and appointed officials to remove themselves from the MSCC\u2019s Board of Directors: District Attorney Steve Mulroy, Juvenile Court Judge Tarik Sugarmon, Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner, County Mayor Lee Harris, County Commissioner Erika Sugarmon, City Mayor Jim Strickland, City Councilman Frank Colvett, Police Chief CJ Davis, and U.S. Attorney Kevin Ritz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n