As Crime Rates Decrease To Pre-Pandemic Levels Overall, Nashville & Chattanooga Still See Rising Homicide Rates

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As Crime Rates Decrease To Pre-Pandemic Levels Overall, Nashville & Chattanooga Still See Rising Homicide Rates

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The Tennessee Conservative Staff –

A study recently conducted by the Council on Criminal Justice reveals that the majority of crimes are returning to pre-pandemic levels in most cities, although some Tennessee cities are still experiencing a spike in certain crimes.

Released on July 25, the study analyzes mid-year incident-level data as reported by city police departments. Researchers examined data from January 2018 to June 2024, looking specifically at changes in 12 different crime areas, including aggravated assault, drug offenses, homicide, and shoplifting.

39 cities were included in the study based on their consistent crime data reporting, including two Tennessee cities: Nashville and Chattanooga.

The Council on Criminal Justice says the results show an “encouraging trend,” with 11 of the 12 crimes analyzed having lower rates so far this year than in 2023, with the exception of shoplifting, which increased by about 24% compared to the first half of 2023.

Shoplifting incidents have only slightly increased in Nashville and are not much higher than pre-pandemic levels.

While crime trends in Nashville and Chattanooga align with those in the other sample cities for the most part, both Tennessee cities differ in one specific area: motor vehicle theft. They were among only a few cities on the list where motor vehicle theft continues to rise.

The Council on Criminal Justice reports that 12 of the cities in the study saw an increase in motor vehicle theft between the first half of 2023 and the same period in 2024.

In Nashville, motor vehicle theft is 23% higher than in the first half of 2023, and 80% higher than in the first half of 2019. In Chattanooga, motor vehicle theft is 35% higher than in the first half of 2023 — the third-largest increase among the study cities.

Researchers emphasized that law enforcement officials give “special attention” to motor vehicle thefts because they are often connected to other crimes, such as burglaries, drive-by shootings, and robberies.

Despite this, the majority of violent crimes are returning to levels that were seen before the pandemic, with aggravated assault, homicide, and robbery all down from last year. 

On average, the homicide rate was about 13% lower during the first half of 2024 than during the same period in 2023, representing 319 fewer deaths. 

Data from Nashville police shows that the homicide rate is 20% lower in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. It is, however, still above pre-pandemic levels, coming in about 20% higher than in the first half of 2019.

Chattanooga remains an outlier, with a homicide rate that is 7% higher in the first half of 2024 compared to the first half of 2023, and 5% higher than pre-pandemic levels. The city is one of nine in the study that saw a rise in homicide between 2023 and 2024.

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3 Responses

  1. There’s a list of the 25 US Cities with the most crime.

    # 1 is Memphis
    # 16 is Chattanooga
    # 23 is Nashville

    All 25 have either Dem Mayors or Mayors who claim to be “independent”, like Chattanooga. NONE are Republicans.

    Chattanooga’s Mayor is a rich guy who went to Columbia and majored in German Literature, and looks like Newsom.
    People in Chattanooga don’t go out to vote – very low turnout. Is something wrong with their GOP? Probably a “social club” focused on “meet and greets”.

    https://realestate.usnews.com/places/rankings/most-dangerous-places

  2. There is a direct relationship between a cultural downward spiral into deviance and crime rates. Current trends would indicate that Nashville will overtake Memphis and Chattanooga and begin to resemble New Orleans in a couple years.
    Nashville has a liberal police force and government aided and abetted by rhino republicans.
    TN need a three strike law. Third felony conviction for a violent crime gets life imprisonment. This is the answer because 90% of crime is committed by 10% of the criminal population. Remove that 10% and the streets become safe once again. Problem is crime is big business with many who stake our lives on it.

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