Memphis American Job Center Burglarized and Damaged
Services not disrupted despite major damage and loss at centerMEMPHIS – Burglars made their way into the Hickory Hill American Job Center (AJC) in Memphis over the weekend, ransacked the facility and stole thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment. Despite the severity of the damage, the crime will not interrupt services for customers in that area of Memphis.
The AJC, located at 4240 Hickory Hill Road, suffered significant damage during the break-in. Burglars ransacked office cubicles, stole computers, and ripped television monitors off the walls.
"When senseless damage like this vandalism and destruction of public facilities occurs, it takes away from our capacity to serve the community most efficiently," said Kenyatta Lovett, Assistant Commissioner for Workforce Services for the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD).
Monday was a federal holiday and the AJC was not open. The building will be closed for the foreseeable future. Still, AJC staff will operate out of the TDLWD mobile American Job Center. It will be located in the AJC parking lot. Mobile AJCs offer nearly all of the service found inside an AJC in a state-of-the-art bus that can travel to different locations.
"We will do everything possible to provide services to our customers without any disruptions," said Lovett. "It will take some time to make the job center operable again and replace the technology lost during the burglary, but will work to make that happen as quickly as possible."
TDWLD and Grant Associates, the state's workforce partner in Memphis, operate two other American Job Centers in the city. Those centers are located at 3040 Walnut Grove Rd and 155 Angelus St. these centers along with the mobile AJC at the Hickory Hill location, will be open Tuesday from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.
The Memphis Police Department is investigating this burglary. Any further details about the crime or investigation, will come from MPD.