Violent Crimes and Major Offenders Program
The Memphis Division's Headquarters City Violent Crimes and Major Offenders (VCMO) Squad is responsible for investigating a wide range of criminal activity. Among the violations investigated by this squad are kidnapping, bank robbery, extortion, major thefts from interstate shipments, and interstate transportation of stolen property, including motor vehicles and crimes against children. Additional violations investigated by this squad include violent carjacking, murder-for-hire, and armored vehicle robberies.
TASK FORCES The FBI participates in task forces with other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies investigating matters of joint interest. These task forces have proven to be a very effective way to address specific crime problems. In law enforcement, concurrent jurisdiction may exist whereby a crime may be classified simultaneously as a local, state and federal violation. For example, the FBI cooperates with other agencies under the Safe Streets Crime Initiative, which combines FBI resources with other federal, state, and local agencies to address violent crimes committed by street gangs and others. In Memphis, these task forces concentrate on bank robbery, major thefts from interstate shipments, interstate transportation of stolen property; and crimes against children.
SAFE STREETS TASK FORCE In 1997, the Safe Streets Task Force (SSTF) was organized to address an ever increasing violent crime problem within the greater Memphis metropolitan area. The SSTF is currently comprised of officers and special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Memphis Police Department, Shelby County Sheriff's Office and the Collierville Police Department. A predominant increase had been occurring with respect to bank robberies and had been following an upward trend in the previous four years. In 1996, there was a 200 percent increase in bank robberies. Since the inception of the SSTF, bank robberies have dropped by approximately 55 percent and there were 41 bank robberies investigated by the SSTF in 2000. The SSTF has consistently maintained a bank robbery solution rate of approximately 90 percent, which is significantly higher than the national average. The SSTF also initiates numerous other investigations, including violent carjackings, kidnapping, federal extortion, murder-for-hire, armored vehicle robberies and serial business robberies. The SSTF also apprehends fugitives, and since its inception in 1997, the SSTF has arrested/located over 700 violent offenders, including numerous kidnappers, rapists, murderers, and individuals on local/state most wanted lists.
AUTO/CARGO THEFT TASK FORCE The Memphis Auto/Cargo Theft Task Force (ACTF) was formed in 1998 to address a significant crime problem involving the interstate transportation of stolen property, including motor vehicles, and major thefts from interstate shipments. The ACTF is currently comprised of officers and special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Memphis Police Department, Shelby County Sheriff's Office, the United States Customs Service, and the National Insurance Crime Bureau. The primary objective of this task force is to reduce the number of automobile thefts, as well as cargo thefts, by the successful prosecution of known career criminals and their associates. A unified effort to address this crime problem is essential, given that the geographical location of Memphis makes it vulnerable to organized criminal groups in the adjacent states of Mississippi and Arkansas, who have easy access to a variety of high theft automobiles, and have an available market for the fencing of stolen vehicles and vehicle parts. Additionally, Memphis is a transportation and trucking industry hub, and also serves as a major cargo warehouse and distribution center for the manufacture of products which can be shipped over the road, by rail car, and by barge on the Mississippi river. Memphis is also the headquarters for Federal Express, the world's largest overnight package delivery service. This concern also prompted the initiation of the Mid-South Cargo Security Council which is a cooperative effort between law enforcement and industry to address major cargo theft problems.
CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN TASK FORCE In 2001, the Crimes Against Children Task Force (CACTF) was initiated to investigate violations of both federal and state law, as they relate to violent crime, with an emphasis on crimes against children. The CACTF is presently comprised of officers and special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Memphis Police Department. These investigations include violations of child sex crimes, child pornography, child abduction and other child exploitation matters. The task force also employs the well established, National Innocent Images Initiative. The primary objective of Innocent Images is to identify and develop prosecutable cases against those individuals who use commercial and private Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) to recruit minors into elicit sexual relationships or electronically distribute pornographic images of minors, in violation of federal law.