KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — While there were fewer murder victims, non-fatal shooting victims and property crimes in Knoxville last year, the number of aggravated assaults increased, according to the Knoxville Police Department's 2023 High-Priority Crime Report. Aggravated assault was the only category of offense to increase compared to last year, according to the report.
The yearly report, which is yet to be audited by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, focuses on the number of murders, assaults, robberies, thefts and burglaries that happened in the city in the last two years. The report also gives a three-year, five-year and 10-year average of each offense.
"Crime is a symptom of other things. It's a symptom of poverty, it's a symptom of inadequate education," said Matthew Best, the director of the Change Center. "A dip in crime is not what we're looking for. We're looking to eradicate. We're looking to make our neighborhoods safe for kids."
Best was a coach at Austin-East High School when Stanley Freeman, then 16 years old, was fatally shot. He was shot during a time when the city saw an outbreak of gun violence among young people.
"I was at my home, in the middle of the day, when I heard the shots that actually killed him. I didn't know that that's what it was until later," said Best.
The number of murder victims in Knoxville dropped from 36 in 2022 to 24 in 2023, with 17 of those 24 murder investigations closed by arrest or exceptional means, KPD said.
"It's been, you know, night and day from 2021 to 2023. And that's because of the hard work and the dedication," said LaKenya Middlebrook, director of the community safety for Knoxville. "Strategies like violence interruption, or street outreach, where folks are in the community, on the ground."
Seventy-six people were non-fatally shot in 2023, compared to 86 people in 2022. However, there were 989 aggravated assaults reported in 2023 compared to 913 aggravated assaults in 2022—an 8% growth. KPD said it's believed that 55% of reported aggravated assaults in the previous year were domestic.
There was also a 34% decrease in reported car burglaries, an 11% decrease in reported vehicle thefts and a 7% decrease in reported burglaries, the report states.
There were 172 reported robberies in both 2022 and 2023, according to the report.
Overall, there were 6% more "persons crimes" in 2023 than in 2022, as opposed to property crimes. Total property crimes dropped 15% in 2023.
“I am so overwhelmingly proud of the men and women of this department, whose collective, relentless efforts throughout 2023 resulted in a meaningful reduction in crime,” said KPD Chief of Police Paul Noel in a news release. “Preventing crime and improving community safety in all corners of the city are our top priorities, and our officers across every rank and assignment continue to display an unceasing commitment to that mission.”