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‘Help without the heavy hand of the police’: Westwood neighbor organizing night patrols amid fear of murders

Organizer Keedran Franklin and others in the community are providing night patrols to the Westwood and Walker Homes neighborhoods.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — It's a different way to imagine public safety in the wake of gruesome crimes, especially in the Westwood area where a community organizer is working to put people's minds at ease.

‘Help without the heavy hand of the police’ – is what organizer Keedran Franklin calls it.

It's help through a cell phone app - that’ll consist of night patrols if someone in the Westwood area feels unsafe.  

“The functionalities of it are bountiful," said community organizer Keedran Franklin. "We can use this app to watch out for each other right? Especially in this wake of these types of murders.”

Murders like Univ. of Memphis nursing student BarShay Wilson and MSCS secretary Larry Thorn.

“There’s a lot of fear around it right?” I can tell the fear that’s going on right? So I’m the type of person I don’t like fear. I feel it and I don’t like it right. So I have to adjust and do something with it," he said.

As a solution, Franklin is encouraging neighbors to use the phone app Cell 411.

Where you can alert your friends, neighbors, family or emergency service providers when you’re in danger.

“I can’t be everywhere at the same time," Franklin commented. "I want to protect all my people and loved ones, right? Everyone wants to so how can we at least get a step closer in case something goes wrong.”

In response to the fear, Franklin and others in the community are providing night patrols to Westwood and Walker Homes neighborhoods.

Franklin’s asking people to download the app and create their own groups of friends and neighbors that can be alerted at any moment – with live video.

The location of the user and alerts on the app can only be viewed by those allowed.

“I don't want MPD to intervene in it," said Franklin. "I don't want them to somehow run up on a group of night patrol officers and there's this big debacle.”

Franklin tells me his own dialogue with the Memphis Police included keeping night patrollers safe.

“I need y’all to know how they look what they dress like, you know, would it be some of the markings on their cars or what they're wearing.”

The focus is on conflict resolution and de-escalation.

The location of the user and alerts on the app can only be viewed by those you allow.

Franklin believes with public safety is a problem in the city citizens should step up to help protect each other.

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