Tennessee Criminal Lawyer Blog

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Statistics Unit recently released its annual crime report for 2008. The following provides some of the highlights of that report.

Group A offenses dropped 2.9 percent from 2007 with a total of 619,465 crimes. Group A offenses consist of crimes against persons (e.g., murder and assault), property crimes (e.g., burglary and arson), and crimes against society (e.g., drug offenses and prostitution).

Among the Group A offenses, property crimes were in the majority at 61.3 percent. Of these, theft was the most common offense reported (44.4 percent), followed by vandalism (19.3 percent) and burglary (17 percent). Credit card fraud showed the most increase from previous years rising 34.5 percent from 2006. White males committed the majority of all property crimes.

Personal crimes consisted of 27.2 percent of all Group A offenses reported. Of these, simple assault made up a majority (56.4 percent), followed by intimidation (19.4 percent) and aggravated assault (18.8 percent). Murder rounded out the bottom at .02 percent of all Group A offenses reported. White males also committed the majority of these crimes.

Crimes against society (sometimes called “victimless” crimes) consisted of 11.2 percent of all Group A offenses reported. Of these, drug and narcotic violations in Tennessee made up the majority (59.5 percent), followed by prostitution (27.6 percent), and weapons violations (8.6 percent). White males committed the majority of these crimes.

Some surprising statistics in the report:
• Juveniles comprised 10.3 percent of all arrests.
• Crime rate per 100 thousand people was 10,066 for 2008.
• Arrest rate per 100 thousand people was 5,907 for 2008.

If you have been charged for violating any of the crimes referred to above or any other crime, it may be in your best interest to contact a skilled criminal defense lawyer in Pigeon Forge. At Baker Associates, our Tennessee criminal defense attorneys will aggressively defend your rights and ensure that you understand the complexities of your case. Call us today for a comprehensive evaluation.