NCJ Number
235523
Date Published
March 2010
Length
205 pages
Annotation
Pursuant to Tennessee's 1989 College and University Security Information Act, this annual Crime on Campus Report addresses the nature, volume, and extent of reported crime that occurs on the campuses and in the housing of Tennessee colleges and universities during calendar year 2009.
Abstract
The total number of offenses reported on Tennessee's campuses increased 9.2 percent from 2008 to 2009, with 6,900 offenses being reported in 2008 and 7,538 reported in 2009. A 6.4-percent decrease occurred from 2007 to 2008, with 6,900 offenses reported in 2008 compared to 7,371 offenses reported in 2007. Between 2006 and 2007, the number of offenses reported decreased 12.5 percent. Larceny/theft offenses continued to compose the largest percentage of offenses reported (38.5 percent in 2009). This category of offenses has shown a consistent trend since 2006. Drug/narcotic offenses increased 16.5 percent overall. The reported number of rapes increased from 12 reported in 2008 to 17 reported for 2009. Fraud offenses increased by 75 percent in 2009 and shoplifting offenses increased 700 percent in 2009. Reported crimes that occurred off campus continued to increase. This change may be attributed partially to local police departments' identification of victims as college students when a crime occurs off-campus. The Crime on Campus reporting program requires each institution of higher education to report known offenses to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. This mandate covers crimes that occur on campus and in student housing. The Tennessee Incident Based reporting System (TIBRS) offense classifications are based on FBI definitions, which are used as the national standards for statistical crime reporting. Tabular data are presented for institutions as a whole and for each institution separately.