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The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –
The murder rate in Davidson County continues to rise this year, but Mayor John Cooper is not pointing to those pulling the trigger as the problem. Instead, he is turning the blame to gun accessibility.
Last Tuesday, a man was shot by a coworker at a Nolensville Pike construction site. This was the county’s 96th homicide for 2022.
Cooper says guns are a major factor in the uptick of murders in the county.
“It’s unacceptably high,” Cooper said. “A very large part of it are these tragic domestic episodes that have gotten out of control with the presence of guns.”
According to date released by the Metro Nashville Police Department, the murder rate is not the only crime rate that has seen an increase this year. Numbers show that aggravated assault, auto theft, commercial burglary, larceny, and residential burglary have all reached higher numbers this year.
Although police are solving more crimes than they have in previous years, the city is still finding it difficult to combat crime that is becoming increasingly more frequent.
“Now we’ve got this tough statistic that we’re getting to the end of the year and Nashville has hovered between 80 and 120 homicides a year for some period of time,” Cooper stated. “Each one is an incredible tragedy and not acceptable.”
One way the mayor plans to work towards solving the problem is by giving greater attention to programs that will work with young people in an effort to thwart future crime before it begins. The launch of a tool called the “Out of School Time” program locator will help parents access information for more than 60 non-profit organizations that provide after-school activities for students who need them.
Cooper says it is a “complete focus in our department.”
He is also working to fill a number of open law enforcement positions.
“Our police training academy started two new classes today,” Cooper said. “We’ve had six graduations in the last year, and we have eight classes planned for next year – 350 new officers.”
The mayor hopes to have Nashville running with its first full-staffed police department that isn’t required to work overtime for the first time in years.
About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career. Most recently, he served as Deputy Director for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others. He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History. Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com
5 Responses
What about blaming the criminal and liberal politicians for not enforcing the law!!
Cooper is a typical liberal idiot!
Mini mayor cooper is a total fraud & just cannot wait to turn Nashville completely into CA.
Legally obtained & owned guns are NOT the problem.
Ask cooper about inviting the blm.inc marches into Nashville…then ask him about making the police stand down, then ask one more question…what happened to our chief of police when he decided to do his job.
The mayor is part of the problem. Not prosecuting criminals and dropping firearms charges is the major reason. He should be charged as accomplice to every firearm crime and violent crime.
Isn’t it typical that liberal cites have increases in crime and the last thing they consider it liberal polices and lenient judges?