NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation released two new annual studies on Friday. One examines the nature and frequency of crime on school campuses, and the other examines domestic offenses through 2021.
The 2021 Domestic Violence in Tennessee report found that 67,590 reports of domestic violence were submitted to the state in 2021, a drop compared to previous years. They said around 72% of victims were women, and most victims were white, representing around 56% of the reports.
"The issue of domestic violence is by no means a novel problem in American society," said David Rausch, the TBI director. "The persistence of domestic violence and the large number of related incidents reported to law enforcement necessitate continued awareness about this issue."
They said around 11% of all victims were minors, and domestic violence was most commonly reported in boyfriend-girlfriend relationships, at around 43%. They far outnumber spousal relationships, which accounted for around 16% of all reports.
The Knox County Family Justice Center says while numbers drop, the crime of domestic violence never ends. They even saw an increase in victims needing help this year.
"Since opening, at least 1600 victims typically come in every year. Right now. We're already at over 1700 for this year. So it is definitely an issue here," said Kathryn Ellis.
Ellis is an Attorney and the director of the justice center.
"And it is something that doesn't discriminate. It touches every income level, every race, every religion, and Every gender. Yeah, so it's definitely an issue," said Ellis.
Fewer domestic violence murders were reported in 2021 compared to previous years — dropping to 83 reports compared to 98 reports in 2020. The number of assaults also fell.
However, the number of kidnappings and abductions rose to 1,538 compared to 1,288 in 2019.
The 2021 School Crime Report emphasizes that situations surrounding school crime vary based on the offenders' motives and their intended victims. While there are situations involving student offenders and student victims, there are also situations involving adult offenders and victims and school just happened to be the place where the crime occurred, such as drug deals in school parking lots.
In 2021, a total of 8,444 incidents were reported at an elementary or secondary school, a stark increase compared to 4,307 incidents in 2020. However, they said it can be partly explained due to the COVID-19 pandemic when fewer people were at schools.
Compared to pre-pandemic numbers in 2019, the number of crimes dropped by around 16%. In both 2019 and 2021, most crimes were reported during September between 12 p.m. and 3 p.m.
There was almost an even split between male and female victims, but most were around 13 years old and 16 years old. Crimes also mostly involved personal weapons like fists, feet, teeth or arms.
Most offenders were male — more than double the number of female offenders.