Metro Nashville Police Dept Data Shows Property Crimes Increase

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The Tennessee Conservative Staff –

Preliminary data from the Metro Nashville Police Department shows that, while reported burglaries are on the decline, other property crimes continue to increase.

Auto theft continues to show the fastest rate of increase, with more than 3000 cars stolen already this year. On a more positive note, however, many violent crimes have shown a decrease. Homicide is down about 6.9% from this time last year, with 81 homicides reported as of the end of September.

These unofficial reports come from the MNPD’s weekly crime initiative book. The report gives data on all part one offenses, including homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft and arson. 

These “serious crimes”, according to the MNPD, remain the primary focus of police activity. Because arson offenses are investigated by the Nashville Fire Department, they are not included in the Davidson County MNPD Uniform Crime Reports (UCR). 

Following is a breakdown of the reported crimes in Nashville and Davidson County so far this year. 

Violent Crime

Violent crime includes four offenses: homicide, rape, aggravated assault, and robbery. These are crimes that involve force or the threat of force. 

The data for Nashville and Davidson County reflects there was a slight decline at about 0.8%, with a total of 6,774 violent crimes reported by September 30, 2023, showing that the violent crime rate has not changed much over the last year.

The MNPD’s Hermitage precinct saw the largest decrease with a 14.4% drop. The South precinct has seen the largest increase in violent crimes with a 12.3% jump from last year. 

Homicide

These reports show that, as of September 30, 2023, 81 homicides were reported in Nashville and Davidson County. That reflects five homicides reported since the beginning of the month. Overall, however, this is a 6.9% decrease from the 87 homicides reported by September 30, 2022. 

While homicides have decreased in the South, Hermitage and Madison precincts, the Midtown Hills precinct has seen the greatest rise in homicides, with a 160% increase compared to this time last year. Preliminary reports show 13 homicides reported this year, compared to 5 reported by the same time last year. The Covenant School shooting falls under the jurisdiction of this precinct.

Rape

With 402 rapes reported in 2022 and 406 reported by September 30, 2023, reports show that the number of rapes reported in Nashville and Davidson County has remained about the same.

Although the report of rape was up about 7.2% in May, that number has been decreasing since. The majority of rapes have been reported in the South precinct of the MNPD, which shows a 19.3% increase, with 105 rapes reported by the end of September. 

Aggravated Assault

So far this year, there have been 5,311 incidences of aggravated assault reported in Nashville and Davidson County. This is a 1.1% increase from the 5,252 aggravated assaults reported by the same time last year, according to unofficial reports. 

The FBI’s UCR Program defines aggravated assault as an unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury. The majority of aggravated assaults have also been reported in the MNPD’s South precinct.

Robbery

There has been a 10.5% decrease in the total number of robberies reported in Nashville and Davidson County this year. Overall, there have been 976 reports made, which is 114 less than the same period last year. 

There has been a decrease in robberies in nearly every precinct, with the exception of the South precinct, where unofficial reports show a 5.1% increase. The West precinct has seen the largest decrease, where robberies have dropped 30.2%. 

Property Crime

The offenses of burglary, larceny, auto theft and arson are considered property crimes. According to the UCR Program, the object of theft-type offenses is taking money or property, but there is no force or threat of force against the victims. 

This year has shown an increase of about 10.8% in property crime in Nashville and Davidson County. There have been 22,887 total incidents reported compared to the 20,649 incidents reported this time last year. 

The department’s South precinct has seen the majority of reported property. Property crimes have risen about 36.6% since last year. The Central and West precincts have seen decreases in property crime rates. 

Burglary

Burglary is the offense with the largest decline in Nashville and Davidson County, with every police precinct reporting a decrease compared to the same time last year. Overall, preliminary reports show incidences of burglary have decreased by nearly 21.1%.

Burglary is defined as the unlawful entry of a home or business. The largest decline of burglary in the Metro area has been commercial burglary. According to reports, 1,093 commercial burglaries were reported by September 30, 2022, compared to just 807 so far this year. 

Residential burglary has also dropped 17.8%. The West precinct has seen the sharpest decline in burglaries, with 281 incidents reported by this time last year and only 157 reports made by Sept. 30, 2023. That represents a 44.1% decrease.

Larceny

While there has been a sharp decline in burglary reports in Nashville and Davidson County, reports reflect about a 10% increase. Examples of larceny include bicycle theft, theft of motor vehicle parts and accessories, shoplifting or pocket-picking. 

The police department’s South precinct has seen the largest rise in larceny, at about 29.1% more than last year with about 3,103 incidents reported this year. However, there has been a decrease of larceny in the Central precinct of about 4.7%. 

Auto Theft

One of the fastest-rising crimes in Nashville and Davidson County, according to unofficial reports, is auto theft. There have been 3,741 auto thefts reported so far this year in the Metro area. That includes 1,090 reports since July and a 51.7% increase from the 2,466 thefts reported by September 30, 2022. 

The South precinct has been hit the hardest, with a 107.7% increase in auto thefts and 1,111 incidents reported compared to just 535 last year. Only one police precinct, the West precinct, has seen a decrease in auto thefts, with two fewer thefts reported than last year.