New Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) data reveals that the University of Memphis (U of M) has the lowest crime rate of state schools boasting more than 5,000 students.
According to the TBI’s 2014 “Crime on Campus” report, the U of M had an incident rate of 14.6 offenses per 1,000 people. However, the average for Tennessee’s 10 largest institutions was 24.7 incidents per 1,000 people.
East Tennessee State University is the only other large institution that had a crime rate lower than 20 offenses per 1,000 people.
This the second consecutive year the U of M has had the lowest crime rate of the state’s largest colleges and universities.
Larceny/theft was the most common offense committed on U of M’s campus. According to the TBI’s report, there were 160 occurrences of larceny/theft last year. Only 13 people accused of committing an offense within the category were cleared of their alleged illegal act.
Shoplifting, pocket-picking, and theft of building, motor vehicle, or motor vehicle parts are all offenses categorized as larceny/theft in the report.
U of M isn’t the only school impacted by larceny/theft. Thirty-two percent of all 2014 offenses reported by Tennessee colleges and universities were categorized as larceny/theft.
Crime reported by Tennessee colleges and universities collectively decreased by 6.3 percent in 2014. There were 6,329 offenses reported last year. But in 2013, there were 6,752 offenses reported.
The Crime on Campus report was compiled using data submitted to TBI’s Tennessee Incident Based Reporting System (TIBRS) program.
