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TBI: Reported domestic violence cases down, school crimes up in 2018

The TBI's latest two reports detail domestic violence and crimes that happened on Tennessee school campuses

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has released its yearly 2018 reports on school crime and domestic violence.

School Crimes 2018

According to the TBI, reported school crimes -- which documents crimes that occurred on school campuses -- have increased in the past two years by nearly 14%.

28,777 crimes were reported to Tennessee law enforcement agencies in the past two years on elementary and secondary schools. Simple assault made up the majority of offenses at 37.6%, and the month of September had the highest frequency of crimes.

Boys 16 to 17 years old were the most reported offenders at 28%.

Since 2016, reported crimes against persons such as assault and intimidation have risen significantly across the state by nearly 31%. Crimes against property such as theft decreased by about 13%, and crimes against society such as drug offenses increased slightly by more than 8%. 

►TBI Crime in Tennessee: Murder and serious crime down, meth crimes up in 2018

►TBI: Hate crimes, violence against officers up in 2018

In 2018, one murder on a TN school campus resulted in an arrest. 

The number of intimidation cases cleared by an arrest more than doubled from 131 in 2017 to 283 in 2018.

The number of aggravated assault cases that saw an arrest jumped from 117 in 2016 to 178 in 2017, and stayed nearly the same with 172 cases in 2018. 

47.5% of all reported offenses in the past two years involved a weapon of some sort, with 77.8% of those (10,636 offenses) being personal weapons like fists and feet. 415 offenses involved a firearm, which is up from 351 reported in 2017's  two-year look. 

►RELATED: TBI database provides crime info where you live

Domestic Violence 2018

The TBI said the number of reported domestic violence offenses decreased from 2017 to 2018 by 5.8%.

The TBI reported a total of 73,568 offenses as being flagged as domestic related in 2018. Of those, 49,455 were simple assault -- and 98 victims were murdered as a result of domestic violence in 2018.

"The issue of domestic violence is by no means a novel problem in the American society. However, the persistence of domestic violence and the large number of related incidents reported to law enforcement necessitate continued awareness about this issue," the TBI said.

Females were three times more likely to be victimized than males. The TBI said females made up 71.1% of all victims-- and women between the ages of 25-34 were most at risk.

Boyfriend/girlfriend relationships were by far the ones most commonly reported in domestic abuse cases -- making up nearly half of the total number of incidents.

In 2018, nearly 60% of all cases were cleared. Of the exceptional reasons the TBI highlighted, 7,370 of those cases were cleared because the victim refused to cooperate with the investigation, and another 1,475 of those cases were cleared because prosecution had been declined. 

►RESOURCES: Domestic violence victims have resources in East Tennessee

"Because of the very nature of domestic violence and the close interpersonal relationships that exist between the victim and offender, it can be challenging for law enforcement to complete an arrest," the TBI said. "Hopefully, the current assessment of domestic violence in Tennessee exposes the need for continued and increased efforts in the battle against domestic abuse within our community."

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