The FBI director called Memphis the capital of America’s killings.
Kash Ptel interviewed Fox News on Sunday and said Memphis is the capital of America’s killings based on crimes per capita. Patel, who took his position as a FBI director on February 21, said a working group would come to Tennessee in response to the crime.
Before he started in his position, Patel said he would work to hold an open FBI office in Memphis after the announcement of the previous director, that he plans to consolidate the three state offices in one in Nashville.
Here’s what we know about Patel and his statement.
The FBI Director calls Memphis “the capital of the murders of America”
Director Patel and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino appeared on Fox News on Sunday, May 18, to discuss National Police Week, maintaining the country’s safety, the restoration of confidence in the FBI and addressing corruption in the industry. During the interview, Patel brought up the highly advertised Memphis history with crime and murder.
“I didn’t know this until the confirmation process, but Memphis, Tennessee, is the capital of America’s killings per capita – he didn’t know this, we have a problem there,” Patel said in an interview with Fox News in a Sunday. “We are turning to him now. We are unfolding one of our Tennessee workers.”
On Sunday afternoon, senator Brent Taylor, R-MEmphis, replied to Patel to X comments, known as Twitter, saying that the FBI special group came to Memphis.
Taylor wrote to X: “Although sometimes it is the only voice ready to fight to save our community, the focus of the FBI Director Kash Patel on the crime of Memphis nourishes our hope. With the support of the Trump administration, we are ready to cope with crime, proving that Memphis is a vital.
Who is Kash Patel?
A former public defender, a lawyer of the Ministry of Justice and an employee of Hill, Patel worked in the previous Trump administration as a deputy aid of the President and Senior Director for Combating Terrorism.
He serves as the chief deputy of the acting director of national intelligence for six months and as the head of the Secretary of Defense Secretary for the last two and a half months of Trump’s first term.
After Trump’s loss in 2020, Patel became a conservative media personality, publishing on social media, giving dozens of interviews and making public appearances in support of Trump and his program.
Kash Patel in the office of Memphis FBI
In August 2024, the then FBI Director Christopher Urai visited field offices in Memphis and Knoxville and the Residential Agency in Nashville. In his meetings with key law enforcement partners throughout the country, he announced that there would be a reorganization of the FBI offices in Tennessee as of October 1.
After October 1, the Residence Agency in Nashville will become the field office in Nashville, and the places of Memphis and Knoxville will become resident agencies. This move will make the places of Memphis and Knoxville smaller and increase the size of Nashville’s office.
In principle, the FBI describes local agencies as “smaller offices”. Despite the change, Joe Carico, the special agent in charge of the FBI Tennessee Department, told FOX13 in October that approximately 450 FBI officials would remain in Memphis, with only a few leadership positions being moved to Nashville.
During his hearing regarding his nomination, Patel said he would maintain an active office in the Memphis field instead of turning the office into a local agency.
A working group to fight crime in Memphis can now be expected in the near future, he said.
Degrees of Crime in Memphis 2025
This graphics from the Memfis Shelby County County Committee shows how whole crime has changed over the years in the first three months of each year.
Crime is below the entire memphis board in the first quarter of 2025.
The data made up of the numbers that the Memphis Police Department sends to the Tennessee Investigation Bureau shows a continuation of a decrease after 2023 peak in crime.
Memphis crime decreased by 13.1% in the first three months of 2025. Compared to the same period in 2024, it represents a 23.06% reduction in the peak of crime in 2023.
The violence coefficient in the first quarter of this year, with 501.5 violence crimes per 100,000 Memphies, is the largest one since 2020, when it is 444.6 crimes per 100,000 memphies.
This Chart of the Commission for Crime of Memphis County Shelby shows how major violence crimes have changed over the years during the first three months of each year.
Here’s how many violent crimes are compared to the first quarter:
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Murder There were 10.8 cases of 100,000 people between 2024 and 2025. Both years saw 66 murders reported in the first three months of the year.
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Rape Attacked a 37.4% reduction, with 11.7 cases per 100,000 people being reported in 2025 and 18.8 reported in 2024, so far, 72 rapes have been reported and 115 have been reported this time last year.
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Raid It reduced 6.8% reduction, with 409.6 cases per 100,000 people reported in 2025 and 439.7, reported in 2024, reported 2.512 aggravated attacks so far this year and 2696 were reported this time last year.
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Robbery It decreased 14.1% reduction, with 69.3 cases per 100,000 people reported in 2025 and 80.7 reported in 2024, so far, 425 robberies have been reported this year, compared to 495 at the same time last year.
The crime of ownership is at its lowest level, 1.347.2 incidents per 100,000 people since 2021, when there were 1.278.3 incidents per 100,000 people.
This graphics from the Memfis Shelby County County Commission shows how the main crime of property has changed over the years during the first three months of each year.
Here’s how specific property crimes are compared to the first quarter:
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Burglary It reduced a 30.4% reduction, with 152.2 cases per 100,000 people reported in 2025, compared to 218.7, reported in 2024. So far, 933 burglary has been reported this year, compared to 1341, reported at the same time last year.
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Theft It decreased by 10.8%, with 917.1 cases per 100,000 people reported in 2025, compared to 1.027.9 in 2024, so far 5 624 thefts this year, compared to 6,303 at the same time last year.
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Theft of motor vehicles It reduced 35.6% reduction, with 277.9 cases per 100,000 people reported in 2025, compared to 431.7 cases in 2024. So far, 1,704 motor vehicles have had so far, compared to 2,647, reported at the same time last year.
This article originally appeared in the commercial appeal of Memphis: Kash Patel calls Memphis “the capital for killings” by us: what plans the FBI to plan to plan