NASHVILLE – On Tuesday, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation released its annual ‘Crime on Campus’ publication, detailing the volume and nature of crime on Tennessee’s college and university campuses.

The report compiles data submitted to TBI through the state’s Tennessee Incident Based Reporting System (TIBRS). Among the report’s findings:

·         Crime reported by Tennessee colleges and universities decreased 15.5% from 2017 to 2018.

·         Robbery offenses decreased significantly, by 50%, in the same time period.

·         The overall category of ‘Sex Offenses – Non-Consensual’ decreased by 17.8% in 2018, with reported ‘Rape’ offenses decreasing 10.2%.

“This report will hopefully assist law enforcement, institution administrators, and government officials in planning their efforts in the fight against crime and create an awareness that crime exists as a threat in our communities,” said TBI Director David Rausch. “I wish to express my appreciation to all institutions of higher learning that consistently support a unified crime reporting system in Tennessee.”

In accordance to federal guidelines, the TBI discourages the use of its crime data to compare one agency to another. It is far more appropriate, in the TBI’s assessment, to compare an agency’s statistics over time.

The full report is available for review on the TBI’s website: www.tn.gov/tbi.