NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation released a new study today, detailing the volume and nature of crime identified as being domestic violence in nature. The annual report compiles crime data submitted to TBI by the state’s law enforcement agencies through the Tennessee Incident Based Reporting System (TIBRS).
Among the findings of “Domestic Violence 2017”:
• A total of 77,846 domestic violence offenses were reported in 2017, representing a decrease of 1.8% since 2016.
• Simple Assault accounted for the largest number of domestic violence offenses.
• Females were three times as likely to be victimized as males, and accounted for 71.5% of reported victims.
• Juveniles accounted for approximately 9.8% of reported domestic violence victims, with Fondling being the most reported offense made against juveniles.
• Domestic violence resulted in 81 Murder victims in 2017.
• 35,773 domestic violence cases were flagged as Boyfriend/Girlfriend.
• The most common weapon reported with domestic violence offenses was Personal (hands, feet, teeth, etc.) at 50,727.
2017 Domestic Violence Offenses by Gender
According to the report, "An analysis of race breakdown revealed that White victims, the race majority for all offenses, accounted for as much as 57.6% of victims for the following offenses: Simple Assault, Aggravated Assault, and Intimidation. White victims made up 59.3% of Murders that were domestic related in 2017.
“I would like to thank all participating law enforcement agencies for their hard work and contributions to making this report a thorough and accurate picture of crime in Tennessee,” said Acting TBI Director Jason Locke. “It is only with their support the state continues to maintain such a successful program.”
As with all of its crime publications, the TBI cautions against using the data provided in this report to compare one jurisdiction to another. The factors impacting crime vary from community to community and accordingly, comparisons are considered neither fair nor accurate.
The report is currently available for review on the TBI’s website: www.tn.gov/tbi.
