117. 53% Safer: Mike Dunavant on What Changed in Memphis

Mike Dunavant has spent 21 years as a prosecutor. Now, he’s back in a job he never expected to hold twice.

Dunavant serves as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, a presidential appointment he first held from 2017 to 2021 before returning to the role in 2025. He describes the second chance as “maybe a story of redemption” — but this time, there’s no learning curve. He knows the job, he knows his time is limited and he says that has created a new sense of urgency.

In this episode of Driven By, Sam Coates sits down with Dunavant to talk about crime, justice and what he believes it will take to create lasting change in Memphis and across West Tennessee. He shares results from the first year of the Memphis Safe Task Force, a collaboration of 31 federal, state and local agencies that has put as many as 1,500 to 2,000 officers on the ground across Memphis. By Dunavant’s count, the effort has resulted in 13,248 arrests and 546 federal defendants charged, while aggregate violent crime has fallen approximately 42%.

But the conversation goes well beyond numbers. Dunavant explains why federal prosecution can be such a powerful tool, what distinguishes crime in Memphis and Jackson from the challenges facing rural West Tennessee and why he believes removing repeat violent offenders creates space for neighborhoods and communities to flourish.

He also shares the deeply personal experiences behind his approach to justice. In 2008, his first wife, Jackie, was killed in a vehicular homicide, leaving him a single father to their 5-year-old son while he was serving as district attorney. After years as a defense attorney and prosecutor, the tragedy put him in a role he never expected: victim. “I’ve now occupied all three seats in the courtroom,” he said.

Dunavant also talks about faith, purpose and the danger of allowing meaningful work to become an idol. He describes his approach to prosecution as “love in the negative” — protecting people by removing the things that are hurting them — and reflects on why, after beginning his legal career motivated largely by money, he ultimately found meaning in public service.

His philosophy is straightforward: “If you remove the bad, the good will flourish.”