Ending the surge of violent crime in cities across our country;
Work to end the surge of violent crime in cities across the country.
Occurrences
Today, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) released the following statement after joining President Trump in Memphis to highlight the remarkable progress the Memphis Safe Task Force has made in restoring law and order. Compared to the same period last year, Memphis has seen a 43% reduction in overall crime.
Evidence
Today, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) released the following statement after joining President Trump in Memphis to highlight the remarkable progress the Memphis Safe Task Force has made in restoring law and order. Compared to the same period last year, Memphis has seen a 43% reduction in overall crime.
Just this month, the President deployed National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., and took federal control of the city’s police force to crack down on rampant crime. This action was desperately needed: In 2024, our nation’s capital recorded a homicide rate of 27.54 per 100,000 residents, higher than the murder rates of Mexico City, Bogota, Colombia, and Islamabad, Pakistan. Already, the administration’s efforts have yielded more than 100 arrests, including a homicide suspect.
Yesterday, the Senate passed the Prison Staff Safety Enhancement Act introduced by U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) to help address the increasingly pervasive sexual assault and harassment of Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) employees by inmates.
U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) released the following statement after the Laken Riley Act passed the Senate. This legislation is named in honor of 22-year-old Laken Riley, who was murdered by a member of the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. He illegally entered the U.S. in 2022 under the Biden-Harris open border and was found guilty of murder by a judge last year.
U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) today introduced the bipartisan Advancing Frequent and Tailored Education to Rebuild Safe Communities and Help Orchestrate Opportunities and Learning (AFTER SCHOOL) Act that would establish a grant program for local communities to establish, maintain, and strengthen after school programs with the goal of reducing violent crime among juveniles.
U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) introduced the Keep Violent Criminals Off Our Streets Act to deter policies that prohibit bail and reward criminal acts.
U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) introduced the Safer Prisons Act to double the maximum term of imprisonment for assaulting a Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) correctional officer.
Today, U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) introduced the Safe Cloud Storage Act, which would provide limited liability protections to law enforcement-approved vendors who store and transfer child sexual abuse material (CSAM) to assist in investigations of child sexual exploitation.
Senator Marsha Blackburn highlighted the Memphis Safe Task Force's success in reducing overall crime by 43% compared to the previous year.
Senator Blackburn introduced the Guard Equal Benefits for Federal Missions Act to ensure National Guard members receive active-duty benefits for their service in federally directed public safety missions.
Senator Blackburn reported that the Memphis Safe Task Force led to a 43% reduction in overall crime, including significant decreases in sexual assault, robbery, motor vehicle theft, and murder.
Senator Hagerty commended the Trump administration's deployment of federal law enforcement resources to Memphis to combat violent crime.
Senator Blackburn co-introduced the AFTER SCHOOL Act to establish a grant program for after-school programs aimed at reducing juvenile crime.
Senator Blackburn introduced the GRACIE Act to incentivize states to record all Child Protective Services interviews, aiming to better identify and rescue children from violence.
Senator Blackburn introduced a resolution condemning Vice President Harris for failing to secure the border, linking border security to national crime rates.
Senator Blackburn supported the Laken Riley Act, requiring ICE to arrest and detain illegal aliens who commit certain crimes, aiming to prevent further offenses.
Assessments
The promise was framed as a commitment to work toward ending violent-crime surges, not a measurable guarantee that violent crime would be eliminated nationwide. During the same Senate term, Blackburn introduced or supported multiple crime-related bills and public-safety measures, including the AFTER SCHOOL Act, Keep Violent Criminals Off Our Streets Act, Safer Prisons Act, Prison Staff Safety Enhancement Act, Laken Riley Act, and support for federal anti-crime efforts in Memphis. The evidence does not prove nationwide violent crime was ended, but it does show sustained legislative and executive-facing work directly aligned with the promise.
Senator Blackburn made a broad promise to 'work to end the surge of violent crime in cities across the country.' Multiple pieces of evidence demonstrate legislative and executive efforts: introducing and passing crime-focused bills, supporting after-school programs aimed at reducing juvenile crime, advocating for National Guard and federal law enforcement deployment to high-crime cities, and supporting policies to deter violent offenders. While full national crime elimination was not guaranteed or promised, the weight of evidence shows sustained and successful activity, including quantifiable reductions in Memphis and localities. Though nationwide crime trends are complex, the efforts and results in target locales substantially fulfill the promise to take action and achieve visible results.
Senator Marsha Blackburn made numerous legislative and policy efforts directed at reducing violent crime, such as sponsoring or cosponsoring several bills to support law enforcement, stiffen penalties, and address specific types of criminal behavior (e.g., juvenile crime, assaults on officers). There is also evidence of supporting and endorsing federal interventions and highlighting task force successes in specific cities. However, the promise as stated—'end the surge of violent crime in cities across the country'—is extremely broad and implies a nationwide, measurable reduction in violent crime. While some evidence shows progress in select areas (e.g., Memphis), there is no conclusive nationwide outcome, nor evidence that the legislative efforts have fully realized the promised result. Thus, the promise is partially fulfilled: substantial and serious efforts were made, with some demonstrated results, but not to the scale or specificity required to claim full delivery.