Hendersonville Standard
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TBI: Reportable crimes fall for a second year in Hendersonville




Paul Harbsmeier

Paul Harbsmeier

The number of Group A offenses, generally considered the most serious crimes, has decreased for the second year in a row in Hendersonville, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s (TBI) recently released Crime in Tennessee report.

The report, released in late June, compiles data submitted from local law enforcement agencies to the TBI’s Tennessee Incident-Based Reporting System (TIBRS).

In 2017 there were 2,903 Group A offenses – up nine percent from the previous year. Crimes include the most serious like homicide and kidnapping, to robbery, burglary, motor vehicle theft and assault. The number decreased to 2,777 in 2018 and again in 2019 to 2,599 – a 10 percent decrease over the two-year period.

The number of burglaries in the city saw the largest percentage decrease at 28 percent. There were 63 burglaries reported in 2018 and 45 reported in 2019. That number was at 74 in 2017. The city also saw a 25 percent decline in the number of robberies reported within the one-year period. There were 16 robberies reported in 2018 and 12 reported in 2019.

Theft from motor vehicles in Hendersonville has also seen a steady decline, according to the report. In 2017 there were 188 reported thefts. That number dropped to 139 in 2018, and to 106 in 2019. Motor vehicle thefts saw a 20 percent decrease – from 48 to 38 – within the last year. The largest decrease came in shoplifting reports – down 40 percent from 2018 to 2019.

Hendersonville police Commander Paul Harbsmeier said the department is pleased with the recent numbers and attributes the lower crime rate to several factors.

“I know it may sound corny, but a lot can be attributed to the real dedication of the men and women of the police department,” he said. “Many criminals commit multiple crimes. The quicker that we can catch them in the process, the less crimes we’ll see. If we are proactive and aggressive in investigating these, they aren’t able to commit more crimes.”

Harbsmeier said the community has played a role as well.   

“I think people are more aware of what’s going on in their neighborhoods and in addition, they are reporting things more,” he said. “Just that mindset has changed over the years to be more supportive of law enforcement and to help us be more proactive. It’s definitely a team effort.”

Arrests related to drug offenses saw an increase in the last year, however. There were 356 drug and narcotic violations in 2018. That number increased by 26 percent to 449 offenses in 2019.

Harbsmeier said those numbers are a double-edged sword for law enforcement. Many times the number of violations has increased, he said, because law enforcement personnel are being proactive.

“Those numbers often go up because we’re out there actively looking for the violations,” he said.

There were no homicides reported in the city in 2019. Three kidnapping/abductions were reported – down from six the previous year. There were also two forcible rapes and three statutory rape reports in 2019. The number of aggravated assaults remained about the same – up slightly to 86 from 84 in 2019.

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