The First 48's Last Days in Memphis

I'm not a huge TV person. This could mean several things.
1. I don't like big TVs. This is false.
2. I'm not a huge TV-shaped person. Luckily, this is true, but not what I meant.
3. I don't like to watch a lot of TV. Bingo!

Most of the shows I watch are documentary, news, or reality-based shows. I love Intervention on A&E, and I watch Lock-Up on MSNBC almost daily. However, the one show that I really enjoy is The First 48, also on A&E. They film in a variety of cities - Dallas, Miami, Detroit - and every so often an episode is filmed right here in Memphis.

These episodes are my favorites to watch. They always show footage of 201 Poplar and of the downtown skyline, but the footage from the crime scene, almost always North or South Memphis, is barely recognizable. It's like they are in another city. I don't visit Orange Mound and Frayser for a reason. Sergeants Caroline Mason and Tony Mullins are stars of the show, and they are just two of the reasons I watch.

Mullins, a Memphis native who rocks out to heavy metal on the job, has been with the Memphis Police Department for 17 years. If I was a bad guy, I would be scared of him and his bald head. Even his wife is a former police officer.

Mason, on the other hand, gives these thugs a taste of their own medicine. She grew up in Orange Mound and is a nineteen-year veteran of the MPD. She always has her hair and nails done, but she's like a bulldog who makes criminals cry. One of the best episodes is when she told a suspect in the interrogation room to "take off your weave". She means business.

So needless to say, when it was announced this week that Memphis was no longer going to allow them to film in our fair city, I was crushed. Police Chief Larry Godwin blamed the City Council, who claimed that the show was making Memphis look like Murder Central.

Well, aren't we Murder Central? At least compared to other mid-market cities like ours? Moreover, City Council member Wanda Halbert commented that she heard out-of-towners say that "Memphis was out of control" and is blaming the show. She also said that "in terms of violence, Memphis isn't much different from other big cities." Is she right, or are we just trying to cover-up our now-exposed flaws?

Let's check out the stats and see where Memphis falls.

Violent Crime by Metro Area - We're # 1! After coming in second last year, we're up to the top spot. Not something we want to brag about. This ranking includes all violent crimes like homicide (what The First 48 follows), rape, aggravated assault and robbery.

Most Dangerous US Cities - Memphis comes in at #8, behind the other River City, St. Louis, and another Southern hot spot, Birmingham.

Counties With the Highest Jail Incarceration Rates - Shelby County ranks third, behind Philadelphia and Nashville (take that, Music City!). Evidently, our jail is so crowded because we're holding too many poor criminals on bails they can't pay, not to mention our arrest rate is increasingly high. Too much crime = too many people in jail.

Police Officer Ratio - The rest of the US averages 3 police officers per 1,000 residents. We're at 2.75 per 1,000. Overall, not bad, but when you start doing the math for a city with a population of 1,000,000, we have 250 less police officers than we should.

Registered Sex Offenders - This has nothing to do with The First 48, but there are 525 in Shelby County, none of which live on Mud Island. However, there is one currently living in Southwind. Ew!

So you get the point. The First 48 isn't exploiting anything, it's only documenting the crime that happens here, and the hard-working crime-fighters that are on the show. Memphis is the golden egg of crime for this series. They would be crazy to not want to film here. It would be like if Kelly Kapowski picked Screech instead of Zack Morris - it just doesn't make sense! Ms. Halbert's concerns about "out-of-towners" are something we battled before the show aired. People were already afraid of Memphis because of all the statistics stated above, not because of A&E.

There are still four episodes left, including one that documents the Lester Street Murders. I will be savoring every last minute of the Memphis episodes, but in the mean time, I've "signed" the petition to bring back The First 48 in Memphis. There are 723 people that have signed so far.

Here's a thought - maybe our City Council should focus on eliminating the reasons that we were on this show to begin with. I doubt that The First 48 in Thousand Oaks, California or Orem, Utah would be quite as exciting.

There will always be plenty of crime here in Memphis, and we can either accept it or try to cover it up like a prom night zit. Either way, I'm sad to see The First 48 leave our city. I guess I'll have to find another show to take its place.