The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation on Monday released its 2014 ‘Crime in Tennessee’ report citing an overall decrease in crime.
The annual study compiles data reported from each law enforcement agency in the state, providing an updated and comprehensive picture of the successes and challenges facing communities across Tennessee.
Among the report’s findings:
· Overall, reported incidents dropped in the Group A (counted by offenses) category by 2.4 percent and by 2.5 percent in the Group B (counted by arrestees) category.
· Domestic Violence offenses made up 51 percent of all offenses in the category of ‘Crimes Against Persons.’
· Reported murders increased by 9.9 percent in 2014.
· Weapon Law Violations decreased by 2.5 percent in 2014.
· Law enforcement departments arrested 26,810 for DUI in 2014, representing a 0.4 percent increase from the previous year.
“We’re extremely thankful for our dedicated law enforcement partners,” said TBI Director Mark Gwyn.
“Together, they helped us compile a thorough snapshot of crime in Tennessee. We now hope every department takes this information and works to further address the key crime issues facing their communities and our state.”
As a disclaimer, the TBI said it "strongly discourages the ranking and comparison of jurisdictions and their crime rates by the data in the 2014 report. Demographic, socio-economic, and other factors out of the control of law enforcement contribute to the nature of the crimes committed. Crime varies from place to place and ranking the agencies solely on numbers would neither be fair to the agencies nor their communities."
The full ‘Crime in Tennessee’ report is available online at www.tbi.tn.gov/tn_crime_stats/stats_analys.shtml.