MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Preliminary figures from a new report have revealed that there was a decline in major violent crime during the second half of 2021, reversing increases in both 2020 and the first half of 2021.
Major violent crime includes murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults.
According to the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission and the TBI, in 2020, like most urban areas of the nation, Memphis and Shelby County saw a sharp increase in major violent crime, with a 24.3 percent increase in Memphis and a 23.1 percent increase countywide compared to 2019.
TBI figures revealed the increase was the result of significant increases in murders and aggravated assaults (with aggravated assaults accounting for more than 80 percent of all reported major violent crime). Reported rapes and robberies went down.
The upward trend in major violent crime continued in the first half of 2021, with a 13.1 percent increase in Memphis and a 12.1 percent increase countywide, with murders and aggravated assaults being the categories with increases.
However, the TBI's preliminary figures show a 2.0 percent increase in major violent crime in Memphis for the entire year and just 1.2 percent countywide, showing a decline during the last half of 2021.
TBI figures for just the last half of 2021 haven't been made available. However, preliminary figures from the Memphis Police Department reflect declines in Memphis during August, September, and November compared to the same months in 2020.
Specifically, the preliminary figures show the following declines compared to the same months in 2020:
- August: -9 percent
- September: -7 percent
- November: -7 percent
While MPD figures show increases in July, they aren't as significant:
- July: +1 percent
- October: +7 percent
- December: +2 percent
“Whether or not this is the beginning of a longer downward trend is something time will tell, but it is encouraging. Still, our major violent crime rate remains above what it was in 2019 before the pandemic and substantially above what it was in 2011, the lowest point in our violent crime rate in many years. This is not the time to slack up on efforts to reduce violent crime but rather just the opposite,” said Bill Gibbons, president of the Crime Commission and executive director of the Public Safety Institute at the University of Memphis.
Major property crime (burglaries, motor vehicle thefts, and other felony thefts) continued a three-year decline in 2021, with a reduction in Memphis of 5.5 percent compared to 2020 and a drop of 6.0 percent countywide, according to preliminary TBI figures.
The Crime Commission said the overall crime rate is calculated using 54 different categories of crime tracked by the TBI. Preliminary figures show slight declines in the overall crime rate as well in 2021 compared to 2020 — minus 1.6 percent in Memphis and 1.4 percent in all of Shelby County.
The commission will release a 5-year Safe Community Action Plan with a major focus on reducing violent crime, in particular, gun violence. A public opinion survey and community meetings involving about 800 people have helped in the development of the plan, along with discussions with key stakeholders.
