MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WMOT) -- For the third year in a row reported crime in Tennessee has fallen. In a report released Thursday morning the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation noted a 1.7 percent overall decrease in crime in 2011 when compared to 2010.
Some key crime categories did, however, show significant increases this past year. TBI spokesperson Kristin Helm notes that the number of murders in Tennessee increased by four percent.
“Tennessee reported a total of 375 murders across the state in 2011 and 96 of those were domestic violence related.”
Helm says domestic violence overall rose by more than half in 2011. That news comes on the heels of stiff new penalties for acts of domestic violence being signed into law earlier this week by Governor Haslam.
Another startling finding of the 2011 crime report has to do with robberies involving the use of a handgun. Helm says nearly a third of such robberies take place in private residences.
“People think of robberies of holding up a market or store or something like that; a bank. But actually a large percentage of them, 28 percent, do happen at home.”
You can review the full report on the TBI website. Just type Tennessee Bureau of Investigation into your favorite search engine.