NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — As News 2 investigates the growing trend of juveniles committing more serious crimes, we reached out to local law enforcement agencies for a closer look at what they’re seeing in their communities from 2021 and 2022.
Davidson County
Metro Nashville Police Department’s jurisdiction covers one of the biggest areas in the state with eight established precincts. Metro even has a Juvenile Task Force to address crime involving kids. News 2 has obtained detailed data of the more than 200 types of offenses they have committed from February 2021 to February 2023. The statistics show that many of the violent crimes juveniles are accused of doing are increasing.
2021
2,442 offenses
- Homicide – 14
- Aggravated assaults – 105
- Aggravated robbery- 73
- Aggravated burglary- 3
- Burglary Motor Vehicle – 16
- Stolen guns -43
- Handgun Possession 1st offense – 103
- Robbery Carjacking – 3
- Weapon violations – 27
- Drugs – 72
- Vandalism – 100
- Joyriding – 39
- Weapon carrying on school – 9
2022
2,782 offenses
- Homicide – 19
- Aggravated assaults – 105
- Aggravated robbery – 70
- Aggravated burglary- 20
- Burglary Motor Vehicle – 121
- Stolen guns – 43
- Handgun Possession 1st Offense – 148
- Robbery Carjacking -24
- Weapon violations – 44
- Drugs – 125
- Vandalism – 100
- Joyriding – 78
- Weapon carrying on school – 15
| READ MORE | Latest headlines from Nashville and Davidson County
Maury County
In Maury County from 2021 to 2022, more juveniles were arrested. While some of the less serious crimes decreased like simple assault, the more serious crimes like aggravated assault, arsons and weapon violations increased. Below is a snapshot of the statistics provided to News 2 from the Maury County Sheriff’s Office for 2021 and 2022.
2021
391 arrests
- Simple Assault – 141
- Aggravated Assault -2
- Intimidation – 13
- Vandalism – 24
- Drugs – 59
- Arsons – 1
- Weapons – 3
2022
457 arrests
- Simple Assault – 127
- Aggravated Assault – 7
- Intimidation – 7
- Vandalism – 6
- Drugs – 94
- Arsons -3
- Weapons – 5
Cheatham County
Taking a closer look at the numbers from the Cheatham County Sheriff’s Office you see crimes involving juveniles decreased in many areas from 2021 to 2022.
2021
143 arrests
- Simple Assault – 9
- Aggravated Assault -3
- Intimidation – 3
- Burglary – 0
- Drugs – 20
2022
99 arrests
- Simple Assault – 9
- Aggravated Assault -0
- Intimidation – 2
- Burglary – 3
- Drugs -17
Montgomery County
Assaults, property crimes and drug offenses each saw a significant increase year-to-year in Montgomery County, according to the statistics from the sheriff’s office. Below includes the total number of offenses committed by juveniles in nine categories from 2021 to 2022. These numbers only reflect incidents involving juveniles in schools or county limits. It does not include any statistics from the city of Clarksville.
2021
626 offenses
- Assault – 99
- Sexual crimes – 11
- Property crimes – 15
- School Mass Violence Threat – 15
- Tobacco offenses – 222
- Drugs – 113
- Disorderly – 114
- Alcohol – 6
- Minor offenses – 31
2022
694 offenses
- Assault – 117
- Sexual crimes – 11
- Property crimes – 19
- School Mass Violence Threat – 26
- Tobacco offenses – 117
- Drugs – 195
- Disorderly – 172
- Alcohol – 9
- Minor offenses – 28
| READ MORE | Latest headlines from Clarksville and Montgomery County
Franklin
In the city of Franklin, the police department said theft from shoplifting has been a growing crime trend among juveniles they’re working to combat. The area saw a significant increase in that type of offense from 2021 to 2022.
2021
147 offenses
- Aggravated Assault – 2
- Simple Assault – 18
- Vandalism – 3
- Robbery – 2
- Theft/Shoplifting – 23
- Drugs – 26
2022
156 offenses
- Aggravated Assault – 5
- Simple Assault – 27
- Vandalism – 3
- Robbery – 1
- Theft/Shoplifting – 33
- Drugs – 21
Dickson County
The Dickson County Sheriff’s Office said it didn’t have a large number of statistics to share from 2021 and 2022, however, sent the following statement: “In the last 24 months, we have had 64 unruly juvenile reports, 48 assault reports, and 4 runaway reports. The majority of unruly juvenile and assault cases come from the high school. Unruly juvenile is mainly kids with vapes, tobacco, etc.”
Wilson County
The Wilson County Sheriff’s Office released its 2022 year-end crime report involving juvenile crime. In 2022, there was a total of 461 arrests. The sheriff’s office said underage vaping is an ongoing issue with a total of 405 devices confiscated.
- Drug arrests – 51
- Tobacco violations (mostly vapes) – 136
- Vandalism – 38
- Theft – 22
- Assaults – 58
- Aggravated assaults – 5
- Criminal Trespass – 2
- Possession of weapon – 7
- Disorderly – 41
News 2 looks at the community consequences of the growing number of kids committing crimes and new ideas about solutions with our special reports, Juvenile Crime.
