MEMPHIS — The Memphis Shelby Crime Commission on Tuesday released the November 2015 crime statistics for the city of Memphis and Shelby County.
The reported major violent crime rate for January-November 2015 was down 1.5 percent countywide and 0.6 percent in the city of Memphis, compared to the same period in 2014. The reported major violent crime rate was down 17.8 percent countywide and 13.6 percent in Memphis, compared to the same period in 2006, which is the baseline year for “Operation: Safe Community.” Major violent crimes include murder, rape, aggravated assault and robbery. Murder rates in Shelby County declined 10.4 percent for this time period over 2014 and 17.2 percent compared to 2006. In Memphis, the murder rate was down 8.5 percent over 2014 and 12.4 percent compared to 2006.
The major property crime rate also continued to decline. Countywide, the rate of major property crimes (burglaries, auto thefts, and other theft offenses) dropped 5.6 percent in 2015 compared to 2014 and 35.3 percent compared to 2006. In Memphis, the decline in 2015 compared to 2014 was 5.9 percent and 33.3 percent compared to 2006.
The reported domestic violence crime rate for January-November 2015 compared to the same period in 2014 was down 4.0 percent countywide and 4.4 percent in the city of Memphis. While data going back to 2006 is not available for reported domestic violence offenses, “Operation: Safe Community” in 2011 began tracking this crime category and uses it as a baseline year.
Compared to the 2011 baseline year, the reported domestic violence crime rate was down 18.1 percent countywide and 19.1 percent in Memphis. Domestic violence offenses include homicides, all assaults, kidnapping/abduction, and all forcible and non-forcible sex offenses, based upon victim-to-offender relationships.
Ben Adams, chair of the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission Board of Directors, noted the importance of viewing crime data in the context of long term trends.
“Decreases since 2006 represent a decade of declining violence in our community,” he said. “In November, we continued to see a lower incidence of crime and, significantly, ongoing decreases in murder rates, still bucking the national increase in many major cities. There may be some months or short periods of time when the incidence of crime increases, but we can see that over the long term, our community is a much safer place than it used to be. It is therefore important to remain focused on approaching crime reduction from all avenues, including prevention and intervention, along with arresting and prosecuting those who have already perpetrated violence, because the multi-faceted approach works.”
About the crime statistics
The “Operation: Safe Community” monthly crime trends report uses data reported by local enforcement agencies to the Tennessee Incident Based Reporting System (TIBRS), which was developed and is maintained by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
An incident is defined in TIBRS as “one or more offenses committed by the same offender, or group of offenders acting in concert, at the same time and place.” The domestic violence reported offenses however, uniquely refer to a victim count versus an incident count.
All state and local law enforcement agencies must report crime data to TIBRS on a monthly basis. The crime categories used in the report are designed to parallel the categories used by the FBI in its annual UCR report. Richard Janikowski, Principal of Strategic City Solutions, produces the report for the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission.
About “Operation: Safe Community”
Launched in 2007, “Operation: Safe Community (OSC),” spearheaded by the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission, is a historic crime reduction initiative involving an organized network of more than 100 partner organizations. It is the public safety pillar of Memphis Fast Forward, a shared vision and unprecedented action plan for improving economic prosperity and quality of life in Memphis and Shelby County.
Memphis Fast Forward is co-chaired by Memphis Mayor A.C. Wharton, Jr., Shelby County Mayor Mark H. Luttrell Jr., and Gary Shorb, president and CEO of Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare representing the CEOs group Memphis Tomorrow.
“Operation: Safe Community” is chaired by Shelby County District Attorney General Amy Weirich.
About the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission
The Memphis Shelby Crime Commission is an independent, non-profit 501(c) (3) organization that quarterbacks the work of the “Operation: Safe Community (OSC)” plan and its partners. It is governed by a board of 50 public and private sector leaders, most of whom are actively involved in leading various initiatives of the OSC plan.
It is funded through the generous contributions of many private sector donors who want to see our community continue its crime reduction progress.
Ben Adams, CEO of Baker Donelson law firm, serves as chairman, and Rick Masson is the interim executive director.
