Major violent crime was down 5.1% in Memphis and 5% in Shelby County for 2022 compared to the year prior. But major property crime — mainly driven by more than a 100% increase in vehicle thefts — increased 29.3% in Memphis and 26.9% in Shelby County, according to end-of-year crime figures compiled by the Public Safety Institute at the University of Memphis and the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission.

The PSI and Crime Commission report, released Monday, Jan. 30, details findings from data provided by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

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Although major violent crime was down for the year, it remains higher than a few years ago. Since 2011, when major violent crimes were at the lowest point in the last two decades, there has been a 45% increase in major violent crime. There were 10,526 violent crimes in Memphis in 2011, compared to 15,285 in 2022.

The report’s violent crime figures are determined by reported murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults.

There was a reduction in reported aggravated assaults in 2022 from the year prior: in Memphis, there was a 7.5% decrease, and there was a 7.4% decrease in Shelby County.

“Aggravated assaults make up some 80 percent of reported major violent crime,” said Bill Gibbons, executive director of the PSI and president of the Crime Commission. “The number of reported aggravated assaults drives the violent crime number.”

Aggravated assaults are not the only violent crimes that have decreased.

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During a Memphis City Council Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee meeting on Jan. 10, Memphis Police Department officials said homicides decreased 13% in 2022 from the year before. In 2022, there were 302 homicides in Memphis, compared to 347 the year prior.

Rapes in 2022 were down 3.8% from the year prior, MPD reported during the council meeting. 

Major property crime — driven by reported burglaries, vehicle thefts and other felony thefts — has increased. In Memphis, the major property crime rate rose 29.3% compared to 2021, and in Shelby County, it rose 26.9%, according to the Crime Commission report.

The main driver was vehicle thefts, which increased 113.1% in Memphis and 107.9% in the county in 2022 versus the year prior.

Following national crime trends, the top car brands stolen locally in 2022 were Hyundai with 1,889 and Kia with 1,783, according to data MPD showed the City Council on Jan. 10. Infinitis were the third most stolen car brand at 1,227.

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Eighteen-year-olds had the highest number of auto theft arrests with 128 followed by 16-year-olds with the second-highest number and 17-year-olds with the third-highest.

Guns stolen from vehicles continues to rise

According to the Crime Commission, reported burglaries increased 12.3% in Memphis and 9.6% in Shelby County from the year before. 

The rate of guns stolen from vehicles continues to rise. Last year, according to data the Crime Commission and PSI obtained from MPD, there was a 19.6% increase in guns stolen from vehicles, with 2,441 guns reported stolen from vehicles compared to 2,041 the year before.

In 2011, there were only 287 guns stolen from vehicles in Memphis, a 750% difference from 2022 figures. 

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“In 2014, the Tennessee General Assembly enacted legislation allowing guns in vehicles without a permit,” the report reads.

During a panel discussion hosted by the Crime Commission in September, Joe Murphy, former interim U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, offered recommendations to keep peoples’ cars safe.

He encouraged audience members not to keep guns in their vehicles, not to display bumper stickers that show insignias such as NRA or Ducks Unlimited that would identify themselves as gun owners, and to keep guns in safes.

“If they can’t find guns in cars, they’re not going to steal,” he said. “And if they can’t steal them, they’re not going to go out into the community.”