Crime in Nashville: Violent crime down, property crime up halfway into 2024

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Halfway into 2024, preliminary data shows most violent crimes in Nashville and Davidson County are down from last year, while all categories of property crime are on the rise.

The Metro area has seen a decrease in homicide, aggravated assault and robbery. However, rape continues to be an exception when it comes to violent crime. Compared to this time last year, there has been a nearly 22% increase in reports, with some areas more affected than others.

The number of reports in the Metro Nashville Police Department’s (MNPD) Midtown Hills Precinct has risen nearly 320% compared to the end of April, when there were only 15 rapes reported in the area.

The rise in property crime has largely been driven by an increase in auto theft, but burglary also appears to be a rising issue, especially within the last few months. Residential burglaries have gone up about 22.6% county-wide compared to last year, and burglaries at businesses have increased by nearly 116.7% in the MNPD’s North Precinct.

Those statistics are derived from unofficial reports in the MNPD’s weekly crime initiative book .

The weekly report prepared by the MNPD Crime Analysis Section provides preliminary data on all part one offenses, including homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft and arson.

Arson offenses in Davidson County are not included in public MNPD Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) because those offenses are investigated by the Nashville Fire Department.

Although the data is reviewed by the MNPD for accuracy and completeness, it does not reflect official counts. Below is a full breakdown of the crimes that have been reported in Nashville and Davidson County during the first six months of 2024.

Violent crime

Violent crime is composed of four offenses: homicide, rape, aggravated assault, and robbery. According to the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, violent crimes are those offenses which involve force or threat of force.

According to unofficial reports, the rate of violent crime in Nashville and Davidson County is slightly lower than it was this time last year. The data reflects a 6.8% decrease, with a total of 4,456 violent crimes reported by June 29, 2023, and only 4,154 reported by June 29, 2024.

The largest drop in violent crime so far this year appears to be in the MNPD’s Madison Precinct, where preliminary reports reflect a 17.3% decrease. However, there is one police precinct that has seen an increase in violent crime.

Violent crime has gone up about 4.5% in the police department’s Central Precinct.

Homicide

Unofficial reports show the homicide rate in Nashville and Davidson County has dropped about 13.7% compared to the first half of last year, with 51 homicides reported by June 29, 2023, and 44 reported about six months into 2024.

While the homicide rate continues to be lower than last year, a large portion of homicides have been reported within the last three months. Preliminary reports show there were only 18 homicides in Nashville by March 30, 2024.

The city ended 2023 with a little over 100 homicides, continuing a trend that started in 2020. Since then, there have been over 100 homicides reported every year. MNPD’s crime stats show that 2017 was the first time Nashville had seen over 100 homicides in almost two decades.

The Midtown Hills Precinct saw the largest rise in homicide last year, with a 100% increase compared to 2022. However, that rise can be attributed to a deadly mass shooting at The Covenant School on March 27 that resulted in the deaths of six people.

Preliminary reports show there have only been three homicides reported in the Midtown Hills Precinct so far in 2024 — a 75% decrease from this time last year. The majority of homicides reported in the first half of the year have been in the North, Hermitage and South Precincts.

Altogether, there have been 26 homicides reported in just those three areas. Nearly 56% of homicide victims have been between the ages of 18 and 34. Unofficial reports show one victim has been 65 years or older and 20.5% of victims have been teens and children between the ages of 0 and 17.

Only five of the homicides reported so far this year have been recorded as domestic-related.

Rape

Unofficial data shows the number of rapes reported in Nashville and Davidson County has increased compared to the first half of last year, with 264 reports made by June 29, 2023, and 322 reports made by June 29, 2024.

That’s 54 more reports since the beginning of June, or an about 20% jump. The largest increase has been in the police department’s Midtown Hills Precinct, where reports of rape have risen by 70.3% compared to this time last year.

That’s also a nearly 320% rise compared to the end of April, when there were only 15 reports made in the Midtown Hills Precinct. As of June 29, 2024, preliminary data shows there have been 63 rapes reported in the area.

Only one police precinct has received close to as many reports, with 61 rapes reported so far this year in the South Precinct. A little over half of all complaints have been filed in the South, Midtown Hills and Hermitage Precincts.

Aggravated assault

There have been 3,195 incidences of aggravated assault reported in Nashville and Davidson County so far this year — an about 8.5% decrease from the 3,490 aggravated assaults reported by June 29, 2023, 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 been reported in the MNPD’s South Precinct.

Nearly every police precinct has seen a decrease in aggravated assaults, except for the Central Precinct where reports have risen 10.5% compared to last year.

Robbery

The total number of robberies reported in Nashville and Davidson County has dropped about 8.9% compared to this time last year, according to preliminary reports. Overall, there have been 593 reports made, which is 58 less than the number of robberies reported by June 29, 2023.

The FBI’s UCR Program defines robbery as the taking or attempting to take anything of value from a person by force or threat of force, and by putting the victim in fear.

The largest drop in robberies appears to be in the Madison Precinct, where unofficial reports indicate a 27.9% decrease. County-wide, commercial robberies have dropped about 28.4% compared to this time last year, while street robberies are down about 6.4%.

The only areas that have seen an increase in robbery are the MNPD’s Hermitage and West Precincts. The most significant rise has been in the West Precinct where unofficial reports show robbery has gone up 76.5%.

Property crime

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

Unofficial reports show property crime in Nashville and Davidson County has increased by about 9.8% compared to this time last year. In total, 15,491 incidents have been reported compared to the 14,110 incidents reported by June 29, 2023 — a rise partially driven by an increase in auto theft.

The majority of property offenses have been reported in the police department’s South, Hermitage and Midtown Hills Precincts. Those three areas account for 7,865, or about half of all reports received so far this year.

However, the area that has seen the largest rise in property crime compared to last year is the MNPD’s Madison Precinct at about 26.5%.

Burglary

Burglary involves the unlawful entry of a home or business. Preliminary reports show there has been an about 18.5% increase in reports of burglary compared to this time last year.

The 1,530 burglaries reported so far this year is also a 58.2% jump from the end of April when there were only 967 reported. Overall, the largest increase in reports has been in the MNPD’s North Precinct, where data shows an 84.4% increase in burglary.

While commercial burglary has been down county-wide for much of 2024, unofficial data indicates it is now rising with a 11.9% increase compared to last year. In the North Precinct alone, commercial burglaries have increased by nearly 116.7%.

Residential burglary is also up about 22.6% county-wide, with the North and South Precincts seeing the largest rises. Only two areas, the Central and Hermitage Precincts, have seen a decrease in burglaries.

Larceny

Unofficial data indicates reports of larceny in Nashville and Davidson County are not far off from this time last year, with only a 5.6% increase. Examples of larceny are thefts of bicycles, motor vehicle parts and accessories, shoplifting or pocket-picking.

While there has not been much of a change county-wide, reports have increased in nearly every police precinct except the Midtown Hills Precinct. Reports of larceny have dropped about 10.6% in the Midtown Hills Precinct compared to this time last year.

Meanwhile, preliminary reports show the area with the largest rise in reports of larceny has been the Madison Precinct. In total, larceny has increased about 22.7% in the area.

Auto theft

Auto theft has been one of the fastest-rising crimes in Nashville and Davidson County, according to unofficial reports. In total, 2,604 auto thefts have been reported so far this year, compared to the 2,064 thefts that were reported by June 29, 2023.

That’s a 26.2% increase compared to this time last year. However, the amount of auto thefts does appear to be leveling off as thefts were up over 120% at the start of 2024. The Metro area ended 2023 with close to 6,000 auto thefts — a nearly 75% increase from 2022.

According to the preliminary data, three of the eight police precincts have reported an over 40% increase in auto thefts within the first six months of 2024. The East Precinct has been hit the hardest, with a 64.3% rise in thefts compared to this time last year.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.