Crime Statistics in Tennessee

The years have been kind to Tennessee, with the state seeing a fairly consistent lowering of crime over the past decade. However, that is not saying much when reports show that Tennessee still stands as one of the states with the highest crime rates in the country. Sexual assaults, aggravated assaults, robberies, and homicides are still incredibly problematic issues that affect the hundreds of thousands of residents living here. It has gotten to a point where cities in the state with populations over 50,000 have crimes per capita higher than the majority of other locations throughout the country.

Crime Throughout the State

Tennessee sees a heavy amount of crimes throughout the year that involve violence and homicide. Crimes of aggravated assaults with a weapon number in the thousands. The injuries that occur in such an assault could have lifelong debilitating effects that can affect the victim physically, mentally, and financially for years to come.

Community Issues

Another major issue with Tennessee communities is issues with drugs and liquor law violations that rank as among the states most widespread crimes. Many of the problems found in the state are blamed on the educational system, which sees fewer graduations than the majority of states in the country. The poverty rate is nearly at the 1/5th mark and less than a quarter of the adult population having any sort of college degree. There are plenty of factors as to why the state has the crime problems it does, but the bigger issue comes in the form of some of the less average crimes.

Other Crimes

Crime statistics in Tennessee show that the state has issues that go beyond the average type of criminal behavior. Although commonly widespread crimes like drugs are still a major problem for the state, with over 800 methamphetamine operations going on at any given time, Tennessee has a major epidemic. There are also recorded cases of human trafficking, making it second only to drug trafficking. Online crimes are also heavily reported as they become more common and widespread. You may often hear about Tennessee’s growing problems with identity theft and cybercrimes.

What You Can Do?

Like all states with major crime problems, many Tennessee police officers become overzealous in their pursuit of justice. If you have been accused of a crime, you need to act quickly. A simple call to criminal defense attorney in Knoxville will be able to provide you with the legal representation you need to not be just another prison statistic. Officials may be working their hardest to make sure that crime rates are going down in Tennessee, but the need for a criminal law attorney never goes away.