City and county fare well in TBI crime stat report - Cleveland Daily Banner

By ALLEN MINCEY allen.mincey@clevelandbanner.com

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation released its 2016 “Crime in Tennessee” report Thursday, revealing a slight overall increase in reported instances of crime in the most recent reporting year.

Although the TBI feels the numbers should not be used to compare areas of the state with each other, the local law enforcement agencies in Bradley County fared well.

The annual study compiles data reported from each law enforcement agency in the state through the Tennessee Incident Based Reporting System (TIBRS). The TBI’s sophisticated crime reporting system, in place for more than 15 years, provides an updated and comprehensive picture of the successes and challenges facing communities across Tennessee.

There are 532 reporting agencies in the state of Tennessee. And, for the first time in four years, all agencies in Tennessee are compliant with TIBRS reporting.

Tennessee is one of 16 states reporting 100 percent compliance. Nationally, 34 states are currently NIBRS-certified.

Among the findings in the 2016 state-wide report:

- Reported instances of murder increased 11.6 percent from 2015 to 2016.

- Forcible rape offenses decreased 2.8 percent in the same time period.

n The number of individuals arrested in connection to reported crimes decreased by 1.9 percent from 2015 to 2016.

- Juveniles accounted for 6.6 percent of all arrests, down from 7.0 percent in the previous year.

- More than half — 51.3 percent — of all reported offenses in the category of “Crimes Against Persons’” were domestic violence-related.

- Drug/narcotic violations increased 9.5 percent in the previous year.

- The number of DUI arrests continued to trend downward in the past year.

“We’re extremely thankful for our dedicated law enforcement partners,” said TBI Director Mark Gwyn. “Together, they helped us compile a thorough snapshot of crime in Tennessee. We now hope every department takes this information and works to further address the key crime issues facing their communities and our state.”

Tenth Judicial District Attorney General Steve Crump said he was pleased to see the statistics and how local law enforcement works to prevent crimes and deal with them when necessary.

"My congratulations to all of our local law enforcement officers and their leadership,” Crump said. “The TBI Crime Report shows numerically what we see every day; that law enforcement in Cleveland/Bradley County is doing a phenomenal job in maintaining public safety.

“Chief Mark Gibson has brought a renewed sense of purpose to CPD and his leadership, along with Captains Robert Harbison and Stacy Smith, is making the department an elite agency in Tennessee,” Crump said.

“I want to especially congratulate Sheriff Eric Watson, Chief Deputy Brian Smith and Captains Steve Lawson and Wayne White for their efforts last year. The report shows them to be in the highest tier of law enforcement agencies for cleared cases. The road deputies, detectives, corrections officers and command staff have much to be proud of. Cleared cases mean criminals being held accountable.”

Watson said the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office is looking closely at the TBI report, and hopes it helps the BCSO direct its efforts to a wider scale to meet the needs the report might show.

“One of my primary objectives upon being elected sheriff was to have more personnel on the road to help proactively deter criminal activity, and to solve crimes when they occurred in the community,” Watson said. ” The preliminary analysis of TBI’s crime report indicates the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office has the best solvability rates in history, and suggests our agency is in the top-tier of resolving crimes in the state of Tennessee.

“Our agency is currently analyzing the 2016 crime report released by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations and in the next few days, a percentage report will be disseminated to the public detailing the great performance of the men and women at the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office,” he said.

Gibson added the statistics in the TBI report assist his department with determining where the police department’s resources can best be utilized.

"Crime statistics assist us in evaluating reported crimes occurring in our community,” Gibson said. “After reviewing these statistics, our goal is to strategically plan our manpower and resources based on trends we see in crime, not just in our city but statewide.

“This report is not only vital for law enforcement agencies across the state, but helps the public to better understand issues in their community so we can make a joint effort to improve public safety together,” he added.

The TBI report breaks up crimes into many categories, including domestic violence victims, crimes against persons, crimes against property and crimes against society.

For the BCSO, there were 3,412 total arrests, while the CPD recorded 2,819 total arrests. Simple assault showed the largest number offenses for both agencies: 758 cases worked by the CPD, and 505 by the BCSO.

Drug/narcotics violations were high on the TBI reports which were worked by the two law enforcement agencies. The Bradley County Sheriff’s Office reported 337 drug/narcotics violations, while the Cleveland Police Department reported 487 drug/narcotics violations. Both agencies also reported drug/narcotics equipment violations: 444 for the CPD and 210 for the BCSO.

Burglaries and vandalisms were also high on the TBI report, with the Cleveland Police Department reporting 411 burglaries in 2016, and the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office noting 267 cases last year. Vandalism reported for both agencies were 250 for the county, and 702 for the city.

The Bradley County Sheriff’s Office cleared 1,780 cases in 2016, while the Cleveland Police Department cleared 2,208 cases.

The Charleston Police Department also had a number listed in the crime report, but they were miniscule compared to the large law enforcement agencies. There were three burglaries, one drug/narcotics violation and two drug/narcotics equipment violations.

All in all, local law enforcement agency leaders were pleased with the number, though they are going to take closer looks at them and act accordingly.

“Public safety relies on solid, professional law enforcement in order to make good cases,” Crump said. “Good cases allow our office to hold criminals accountable and punish them. We are fortunate to live in a place with so many good law enforcement officers who risk their lives every day to keep us safe."

To coincide with the release of the TBI report, 2016’s public data is now available for review at TNCrimeOnline.com.

The full ‘Crime in Tennessee’ report is available for review on the TBI’s website: http://ift.tt/2oDkxOW.

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