‘Crime in Tennessee’ report shows statewide trends in 2020

JACKSON, Tenn. — The COVID-19 pandemic caused workplaces, schools and other public buildings to close over the last year, but the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says the increase of people staying home also caused crime to decline drastically in 2020.

The TBI released their 2020 Crime in Tennessee report this week, which is based on statistics submitted by law enforcement agencies across the state.

The report shows a total of 506,558 violent crimes, including murder, rape and kidnapping reported in 2020, a five percent decrease from 2019.

The report shows that most crimes were reported in August, with the majority reported in the afternoon between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.

The TBI says of those more than 500,000 crimes, more than 136,000 arrests were made.

Although overall crime across the state decreased, there were some increases in certain categories. There were:

• 682 reported murders in 2020, almost 200 more than were reported in 2019.
• 47,915 cases of destruction, damage or vandalism in 2020, compared to 46,641 in 2019.
• 22,018 vehicle theft reports in 2020, compared to 19,906 reports in 2019.

Reports of rape, burglary, fraud, robbery and drug violations decreased in 2020, according to the report.

The report also shows that domestic violence reports dropped by 500 cases compared to 2019, and animal cruelty reports decreased from 475 to 430.

TBI Director David Rausch says, “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.”

For more information on the report, click here.