An annual report issued this week by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) shows that violent crimes are decreasing.
The 437-page report compiles data submitted to TBI from local law enforcement agencies through the Tennessee Incident-Based Reporting System (TIBRS).
According to a summary of the report, incidents of murder, rape, and kidnapping all decreased by double-digit percentages from the 2021 to 2022 reporting period.
Considered Group A offenses, there were 611 murders reported, 2,156 rapes reported, and 1,954 kidnappings reported.
Murders decreased by 14.55 percent, rapes were down by 10.61 percent, and kidnappings were down by 11.98 percent. Weapon violations and crimes against persons also decreased, the former by .098 percent and the latter by 3.19 percent.
“There were a total of 119,215 arrests for Group A offenses, decreasing 12.48% from 2021,” the report says.
TBI says that about 7.97 percent of Group A offenses, which include other crimes like manslaughter, aggravated assault, stalking, and commercial sex acts, were committed by juveniles.
Juvenile arrests stood at 4,143, compared to 5,069 last year.
There were 17 juvenile murders, 21 juvenile rapes, and 19 juvenile kidnappings reported in 2022.
DUIs are also down in Tennessee, with DUI arrests decreasing from 19,656 in 2021 to 17,794 in 2022.
However, it is not all good news from the report. Of the total 502,189 reported arrests in 2022, only 35.84 percent of cases have been cleared.
Overall, Group B offenses increased from 136,605 in 2021 to a marginally higher 136,970 in 2022.
Group B offenses include trespassing, disorderly conduct, non-violent family crimes, and DUI, the last of which is the most frequently reported offense in that category.
Property crimes also increased by 3.31 percent.
Reported offenses were highest in July, totaling 44,490, followed closely by August at 44,449.
“The TIBRS program continues to serve as a model for the nation and remains successful because of the continued cooperation by Tennessee’s law enforcement community,” said TBI Director David Rausch. “TBI remains committed to this effort and will continue to provide the training and technical assistance necessary to collect the most accurate and comprehensive crime statistics for Tennessee and its citizens.”
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter.
Photo “Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Building” by Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
