KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Knoxville City Council is expected to meet Tuesday evening and vote on several proposals. Those proposals include a resolution that would ask state lawmakers representing Knoxville to pass legislation recognizing gun violence as a threat to young people in the state.
They will also discuss a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to support community-based violence intervention initiatives. City leaders will also discuss whether to let the Knoxville Police Department participate in a National Public Safety Partnership established by the DOJ.
More information about the proposals expected at Tuesday's meeting is below.
Knoxville City Council will discuss whether to pass a resolution asking state lawmakers that represent the city to pass legislation that recognizes gun violence as a "particular threat for young people in Tennessee." It would also ask them to pass a stronger order of protection law.
They said firearms were the leading cause of death of children and youth in the U.S. since 2020. The Mayor's Youth Council asked for the resolution to be considered. It also says that so far this year, two mass shootings involving children have occurred so far in Tennessee, resulting in 14 injuries and 11 deaths.
It also references a poll by Vanderbilt University that found strong support from voters across the state for "Extreme Risk Protection Orders." The orders were proposed by Governor Bill Lee and would give law enforcement the choice for law enforcement to ask a court to require people who pose a danger to themselves or others to dispossess their guns.
If the city council passes the resolution, they would formally recognize guns as a particular threat to young people and call for state lawmakers to pass legislation reducing gun violence. It says the legislation can include requiring background checks for all gun purchases, closing a loophole that allows felons to bypass background checks, implementing an "Extreme Risk Protection Order," requiring secure storage of guns and giving funding for school threat assessment teams.
The resolution passed, but council members Lynne Fugate and Janet Testerman abstained from voting. There were no votes against the resolution.
The city council will also consider a resolution allowing KPD to participate in a national program meant to increase collaboration and build capacity among different law enforcement agencies, as well as prosecutorial organizations and community partners.
It's called the National Public Safety Partnership, and through it, law enforcement agencies can leverage specialized expertise from other agencies, with dedicated prosecutorial resources to promote community safety.
It is designed to support communities that face levels of violent crime exceeding the national average. It is not expected to cost anything to the city, and KPD said that aggravated assault, forcible rape, and murder rose from 2019 through 2021. They also said "The Knoxville Gun Violence Problem Analysis: 2019 - 2021" studied local violence and identified networks and people within the community who are at the greatest risk of violence.
"The combination of fans and narcotics sales were found to be contributing factors in all violent crimes. There are 17 active groups/gangs within the city and almost all are subsets of a small number of major groups," KPD said. "While identified group/gang areas only cover about 11.4 square miles, or 11.5% of the total land area, 49.8% of all gun violence incidents occurred there."
The study recommends four specific approaches for KPD to address crime, listed below.
- Address high-risk groups/gangs
- Engage very high-risk (VHR) people — especially those with gang ties
- Prioritize targeted drug enforcement
- Focus on high-risk places
The resolution passed unanimously.
Knoxville City Council will discuss applying for a $2 million grant program from the U.S. Department of Justice that requires no match from the city. The money would be used to support community-based violence intervention and prevention initiatives.
The grant is meant to support efforts addressing gang and gun violence, based on partnerships among community residents, government agencies, victim service providers, community-based organizations, law enforcement, hospitals, researchers and other stakeholders.
"Most community violence involves a relatively small number of people — whether youth or adult — as the parties who carry out violence or become its victims. Further, community violence is typically concentrated in certain locations within a jurisdiction, eroding the public health and safety of these communities, causing economic disruption, and contributing to lasting individual and community traumas," the program says.
The application for the grant would be submitted for the Knoxville Office of Community Safety, to be used for comprehensive violence reduction planning and implementation.
The resolution passed unanimously.