The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s annual Crime on Campus report released last week shows crime reported on college campuses and universities last year dropped slightly from 2016 to 2017.
Overall, Tennessee colleges and universities reported a total of 6,194 offenses on their campuses in 2017, a 2.8 percent decrease from the 6,371 offenses seen in 2016.
Some of the largest improvements came from a reduction in assault and theft charges that have consistently made up more than a third of campus crimes reported every year, according to the report. Gains in both areas outweighed a slight increase in drug offenses.
Reported thefts have declined for seven years in a row from a high of 2,926 in 2009 to just 1,657 last year. The majority of that progress comes from a fall-off in the number of thefts from buildings, slashed from almost 1,600 in 2011 to fewer than 750 in 2017. But, gains were blunted by thefts from vehicles which increased to 338, the highest rate seen in five years.
Tennessee campuses have seen a relatively consistent number of assaults over the last decade with the total hovering between 500 and 700 incidents. That total surged to 849 in 2016, but fell to 733 assaults statewide in 2017.