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TBI's 2020 crime report shows murders sharply up statewide to highest level in nearly 2 decades

Reported murders were up significantly by nearly 31% to 682 in 2020 across Tennessee -- the highest level seen in nearly two decades.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation released its 2020 Crime in Tennessee report, which showed reported murders had grown to their highest levels in many years.

The TBI showed a nearly 31% increase in reported murders across the state compared to 2019. The TBI reported 682 murders in the state in 2020 compared to 498 in 2019.

2020 was the deadliest year for murders in the state of Tennessee in at least 18 years, according to yearly reports dating back as far as 2002. 

Spanish Version: TBI: Reporte de criminalidad de 2020 muestra fuerte aumento de asesinatos en Tennessee

Violent crime in the Knoxville area also saw a notable rise in 2020, according to the Knoxville Police Department and the TBI report. KPD said 2020 was Knoxville's deadliest year on record with a total of 33 fatal shootings. The TBI reported a total of 38 murders from KPD's reporting area in 2020.

So far in 2021, Knoxville has had 26 deadly shootings, according to KPD.

Credit: WBIR/KPD
Fatal shooting victims in Knoxville, Tenn. between 2010 and 2021.

According to the 2020 report, the most serious Group A crimes were down overall by 5% in 2020 despite the rise in murders. Due to the unique circumstances of 2020, the TBI said crime overall last year was still down sharply -- largely due to significant decreases in reported assaults and drug crimes.

Incidents of reported domestic violence were also down overall in 2020, however, family violence advocates said they were worried about decreases in domestic violence reporting and increases in actual violence due to pandemic-induced isolation and the loss of outreach resources. 

According to the TBI report, 9,323 of the136,407 people arrested for the most serious offenses were juveniles. Overall, juvenile arrests were down by 34% in 2020 from the 14,149 reported in 2019. Juvenile victims also decreased by 19.5% since 2018.

The TBI showed of the 506,558 total Group A offenses, only 198,058 were cleared.

"The state’s 2020 crime data was undeniably impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as workplaces, schools, and other community venues were closed. The data analysis and the numerous graphs and charts in this year’s publication illustrate the sharp decline in reported crime," the TBI said.

The TBI strongly discouraged people from comparing 2020's data to data on other cities released by other sources -- saying the TIBRS data is not comparable due to the individual differences with the database.

You can read the full report at this link.

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