NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Nashville Mayor John Cooper and Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake held a joint press conference to introduce the new "Power Shifts" initiative to address crime in the South Nashville/Antioch area.
Officers will work shifts 10-hour shifts with a sergeant leading a team of officers during the period when that area of town experiences its heaviest volume of calls and incidents.
"It hurts when you hear, hey we're stretched thin, it becomes an officer safety issue when you may not have back up or things are going on," said Chief John Drake.
Drake was joined by Mayor John Cooper to speak to officers part of the Power Shift. The shift is an effort to bring more officers to Hermitage and South Nashville in the late hours when police get the most crime calls.
"Crime has dropped, we were spiking a lot in the beginning of the year but with the implementation of the power shift we've seen some dramatic drops," Drake said.
The city is down 16-hundred incidents this year compared to 2020. The department credits this to implementations like the Power Shift.
"You got a team of nine individuals that can respond to an area of a violent crime flood that area and make it much more difficult if not impossible for the suspect to flee," said Sgt. Cameron Brown Hermitage Precinct.
Still, the South and Hermitage Precincts have seen some of their heaviest call volumes in a long time.
"South precinct is just so busy and Hermitage precinct as well, they're both two of the busiest precincts," said Sgt. Daniel Johnson south precinct.
Mayor John Cooper's budget includes $15 million for a brand new southeast precinct, and more than $30 million to increase city employee pay.
