Shelby County Sheriff Platform

Shelby County is electing a new Sheriff in 2026. Most people think of the Sheriff as a law enforcement officer, but the biggest part of the job is actually running the county jail. The jail division alone accounts for over a third of the Sheriff’s Office budget, and on any given day the Sheriff is responsible for the safety and wellbeing of roughly 3,000 people held at 201 Poplar and Jail East. That’s more people than live in some Shelby County neighborhoods. The rest of the office handles law enforcement patrol, court security, and serving warrants. All of it matters, but the jail is where the most lives are on the line every day.

Shelby County needs a Sheriff’s Office that is humane, transparent, and accountable to every resident. Our community is in crisis. At least 65 people have died in the county jail since 2019. The jail is overcrowded and understaffed. Black residents are 54% of Shelby County’s population but 87% of the people locked up in its jail. What we’ve been doing isn’t working, and more of the same won’t fix it.

Our next Sheriff has to change how this office operates – inside the jail and out on the street. Humane treatment, community-based solutions, and real public accountability have to replace the failed status quo. By pledging to adopt the following principles, the next Shelby County Sheriff can act to keep all of us safe.

Reform Law Enforcement Practices & Build Community Trust

Review and strengthen use-of-force policies to require de-escalation before force is used. Hold deputies accountable when policies are violated, and report all use-of-force incidents publicly, broken down by race.
Provide all personnel with rigorous training in crisis intervention, de-escalation, mental health first aid, anti-bias practices, and constitutional policing.
Limit the use of pretextual stops by SCSO deputies. State law prevents a formal ban, but the Sheriff can set internal policy directing deputies not to use minor equipment or administrative violations as the sole reason for investigatory stops.
Require written consent for vehicle searches during traffic stops.
Collect and publicly report comprehensive stop data – including race, reason for the stop, whether a search was conducted, and the outcome – regardless of if a citation was issued. Conduct regular reviews to identify and correct racial disparities.
Before committing SCSO resources to any multi-agency operation, ensure there is a coordinated plan to safely manage the impact on jail capacity, booking, court processing, and community trust. The Sheriff’s first obligation is to the people in custody and the communities of Shelby County, and no external operation should override that responsibility.
Invest in community-oriented policing that builds trust and relationships, especially in unincorporated areas, instead of relying on high-volume arrest tactics.
Support the development and use of alternative, non-law-enforcement responses to non-violent calls, especially those involving mental health crises or substance use. Work with community-based crisis teams so that trained behavioral health professionals, not armed deputies, are the first responders to these situations.

Protect Immigrant & Refugee Communities

Terminate or decline to renew the 287(g) agreement with ICE to the fullest extent permitted under Tennessee law.
Prohibit deputies from asking about immigration status during routine encounters.
Decline to honor ICE detainers beyond the point when a person would otherwise be released, except where legally required.
Put policies in place to protect immigrant residents who report crimes or cooperate as witnesses.
Work directly with immigrant community organizations to rebuild trust and develop safety strategies that reflect their needs.
Publicly report the scope and cost of any cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

Preserve Life & Ensure Humane Jail Conditions

Reform the intake process so that everyone receives a medical and mental health screening within 24 hours of arrival, has access to food, water, and basic necessities while being processed, and is not left sitting in intake for days.
Require that all existing medications for incoming individuals are reviewed and prescribed immediately after intake, preventing dangerous withdrawals and strain on already existing mental health needs.
Make sure people are safely housed from the start. Intake should include a classification assessment that accounts for the nature of the charge, mental and physical health needs, and security threat group affiliations – so no one is placed in a housing situation that puts them at risk.
Take active oversight of the jail’s medical care provider and publicly push to replace any provider whose record shows it can’t meet basic standards of care.
Require independent, transparent review of every in-custody death, with public reporting and accountability for staff whose actions or inaction played a role.
Address the staffing crisis by conducting a staffing analysis based on the configuration of the current jail facilities and the required supervision model; improve working conditions, pay, and training for corrections officers; hold staff accountable when they engage in misconduct.
Make immediate infrastructure improvements at 201 Poplar. Humane conditions should not have to wait for a new facility.
Restrict the use of solitary confinement. Prolonged isolation causes serious mental and physical harm.

Reduce the Jail Population

Expand cite-and-release for low-level, nonviolent offenses.
Work with judges, the District Attorney, Public Defender, and Pretrial Services to reduce unnecessary pretrial detention. About 9 in 10 people in the jail have not been convicted of a crime.
Advocate for expanded pretrial release and recognizance release, building on the success of Shelby County’s 2022 bail reforms.
Partner with community-based mental health crisis teams to keep people in crisis out of the jail and connected to the right services.
Fix the broken booking and release processes that keep the jail population artificially high. These are problems that don’t require a new building to solve.
Publicly report jail population, length of stay, processing times, and pretrial percentages on a regular basis.

Address Jail Facility Needs with Accountability

With any jail construction or renovation, commit to dedicated, parallel investments in strategies that safely reduce incarceration – including diversion, mental health crisis alternatives, pretrial services, and reentry support.
Base any facility plan on credible data reflecting the long-term decline in bookings, not projections chosen to justify a bigger building, and size any new facility to actual need, accounting for the population reductions that process improvements, diversion, and pretrial reform can deliver.
Fix the staffing, process, and culture problems driving the current crisis before or alongside any construction. A new building will not fix these problems on its own.
Fix the 140 beds* that are currently reported as unusable to prevent incarcerated persons from double bunking.
Immediately address elevator and escalator repairs to ensure safety for those held at the jail and to provide more access to court hearings for those with disabilities.

*These beds were marked as out of service in the October 2025 Jail report card, but no such number or category can be found in the December report card, which is the most recent.

Support Youth Justice & Diversion

Prioritize diversion over arrest for young people whenever safe and appropriate. Direct deputies to connect youth with community-based services and family supports – like the Youth & Family Resource Center and other diversion programs – rather than booking them into the justice system.
Ensure any youth held in adult facilities are housed separately from adults, with access to age-appropriate education, mental health services, and legal support.
Work with Juvenile Court and the DA to reduce the number of youth transferred to the adult system.
Require all deputies to complete training on adolescent development, trauma-informed practices, and youth-specific de-escalation.
Give youth-led organizations like the Youth Justice Action Coalition a seat at the table in developing policies that affect young people.

Establish Transparency, Accountability & Civilian Oversight

Conduct a full audit of all written policies and procedures with community input and oversight.
Publish jail operations and law enforcement data through a publicly accessible online dashboard – not static PDF reports – that is updated regularly and designed so community members can easily find and understand the information.
Support the Civilian Law Enforcement Review Committee (CLERC) with full access to records and cooperation from the Sheriff’s Office.
Expand the role of CLERC to include periodic review of SCSO policing activities and incident reports, not just complaints. Give the committee the access, resources, and community representation it needs to identify patterns, flag concerns, and work with the Sheriff’s Office on shared solutions.
Put clear policies in place for investigating and disciplining staff misconduct, including termination and referral for prosecution.
Commit to public reporting on the Sheriff’s Office budget, including contracts for medical care, food, and telecom, and the fees charged to incarcerated people and their families.
Require body cameras on all deputies during law enforcement encounters.
Report all in-custody deaths as soon as possible, withholding names and other identifying information until next-of-kin are notified.

Invest in Reentry & Community Safety

Expand evidence-based programming inside the jail: education, job readiness, substance use treatment including MAT, mental health services, and family support.
Provide access to Medication-Assisted Treatment while in custody and a 60-day supply upon release.
Partner with community organizations to support people leaving jail with housing, employment, healthcare, and identification recovery.
Track and publicly report reentry outcomes: employment, housing stability, healthcare continuity, and recidivism.
Prioritize connection with community support systems by eliminating fees for remote video visitation and phone calls; reinstating in-person (not on-site video) visitation; and expanding in-person visitation hours to include evenings and weekends.
Reduce exploitative commissary fees and provide adequate essential personal hygiene products.
Incorporate usage of the TN Department of Labor & Workforce Development’s free educational tablet program into inmate programming.

Lead Through Collaboration

Establish regular coordination with the County Mayor, Commission, DA, Public Defender, courts, and MPD.
Resolve disputes collaboratively, not through public letters and press conferences while people suffer.
Engage community organizations and advocacy coalitions in shaping public safety strategies.
Resist state-level pressure to adopt policies that conflict with Shelby County’s priorities and community trust.
Measure success by community outcomes, not just arrest numbers.

Center Racial Equity

Collect and publicly report racial demographics at every stage of contact: stops, searches, arrests, bookings, length of stay, use of force, and deaths.
Conduct regular independent audits of racial disparities and commit to corrective action when disparities are found.
Provide all personnel with rigorous anti-bias training and track whether it’s producing measurable changes in practice.
Direct decarceration, diversion, and reentry investments to the communities hit hardest by mass incarceration.