Major violent crime declined in the second half of 2021, according to the latest data from the Memphis Shelby County Crime Commission.
These crimes, which include murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault, rose sharply here in 2020 as they did in most urban centers across the United States. Violent crime was up 24 percent in Memphis in 2020, compared to 2019, with big increases in murders and aggravated assaults.
The trend continued in the first half of 2021, with violent crime rates up 13 percent in Memphis. However, early data from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) show a 2 percent increase in violent crime for Memphis for all of 2021, “indicating an actual decline during the last half of 2021,” according to the Crime Commission.
“Whether or not this is the beginning of a longer downward trend is something time will tell but it is encouraging,” said Crime Commission president Bill Gibbons. “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.
Bill Gibbons
“This is not the time to slack up on efforts to reduce violent crime but rather just the opposite.”
Major property crimes, like burglaries and motor vehicle thefts, continued a three-year decline last year. These crimes were down 5.5 percent in Memphis in 2021, compared to 2020.
