Report shows decrease in crime from previous year
Nashville, Tenn. – The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation today released the “Crime on Campus 2012” report which shows a slight decrease of crimes committed statewide in 2012 on Tennessee’s campuses after 2011 data showed an increase from 2010. The most commonly reported offense on university campuses remains larceny/theft, but overall that category also decreased from the previous year.
There were 7,326 offenses reported in 2012 compared with 7,639 in 2011, a 4.1% decrease overall. However, violent crime was up again for the third year in a row.
Overview of Reported Offenses
- Assault offenses increased by more than 13% from 2011 to 2012, with aggravated assault increasing drastically from 46 in 2011 to 75 in 2012.
- Prior to 2012, drug/narcotics and drug equipment violation had increased yearly since 2008. However, this trend ended in 2012 with a 1.4% decrease in those offenses being reported in 2012.
- More than 35% of all 2012 offenses reported were categorized as larceny/theft which is a decrease from 2011. Theft from a building remains the most often reported with 1,539 offenses, a decrease from the 1,595 offenses reported in 2011.
- Overall, there was a nearly 20% decrease in forcible sex offenses reported including a decrease in forcible rape.
- Theft of motor vehicle offenses have declined 33% since 2009.
- DUI violations decreased nearly 11% from 2011 to 2012.
The TBI publishes the annual Crime on Campus report pursuant to the 1989 College and University Security Information Act enacted by the Tennessee General Assembly. All colleges and universities are mandated to report crime statistics to TBI in an effort to assist law enforcement, institution administrations and government officials in planning their efforts to fight crime and applying crime prevention strategies.
To view a full copy of the “Crime on Campus 2011” report, including statistics from each individual institution, click here to go to TBI’s website.
