April 20, 2012
The Tennessean
by Sandi Van Orden
Of the seven most populous counties in the state, Williamson County was the only one to report fewer than 10,000 crimes in 2011.
In Williamson County, population 183,182, there were 6,510 crimes reported. That is significantly fewer than the two counties closest in population: Montgomery with 172,331 residents and 15,274 reported crimes, and Rutherford with a population of 262,604 and 20,217 crimes.
The total number of crimes reported to law enforcement agencies in Williamson County was down slightly in 2011 from 6,799 the year before, according to statistics released last week by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. The numbers include crimes reported in Spring Hill — both the Williamson and Maury sides.
The five-year change was minimal with 6,506 crimes reported in 2006.
The drop in crime was consistent statewide.
The most common crime in Williamson County is robbery/theft/stealing with 2,038 reports in 2011, down from 2,235 cases in 2010. The largest category is theft from a motor vehicle, which declined from 635 reports in 2010 to 395 in 2011.
The TBI report also shows that the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office had the highest rate — 63.11 percent — of cleared cases in the county in 2011.
Spring Hill and Nolensville’s police departments, however, cleared just over one-fourth of their cases. Spring Hill’s average of 28.14 percent and Nolensville’s average of 26.6 percent of cleared cases in 2011 fell below the state’s average of 36.05 percent for the same year.
Crime Stoppers, business relationships help
Nancy Hughes, chairwoman of the board of Crime Stoppers in Williamson County, said a reduction in crime is always good.
“In terms of Williamson County, I applaud all law enforcement in our county,” she said. Hughes is also proud of Crime Stoppers for its role in helping to solve crime.
In the county seat, the Franklin Police Department had 198 fewer crimes reported last year than the year before — 2,593 versus 2,791. But this is up from five years ago, when 2,393 crimes were reported in the city.
Sgt. Charles Warner, Franklin Police Department’s public affairs officer, said the department’s relationship with local businesses has helped reduce the number of thefts in the city.
“We are able to catch a lot of theft in progress,” he said.
Warner said the city’s focus on theft and drug offenses increases the number of arrests.
Warner said the department is happy with where the crime statistics are, and happy with how those compare to the rest of the state.
Statewide there were 9,089.7 crimes per 100,000 in population, while Franklin had 4,148.1. The Franklin Police Department cleared 46.26 percent of cases.
Don’t let your guard down, chief says
Nolensville had both the fewest number of crimes and the lowest crime rate reported in the county last year at 94, and in 2010 with 117. The town saw a drop in crime from 2006, when 128 crimes were reported.
Nolensville Police Chief Paul Rigsby said he’s pleased with his town’s low crime rate, but he doesn’t take much stock in statistics since they can be misleading and not tell the whole story.
He said his department of seven full-time officers is busiest when school is out and kids are idle. Vandalism reports increase during school breaks, like summer vacation and over the Christmas holidays.
“Snowmen get deflated. They get put in compromising positions,” Rigsby joked.
But in all seriousness, Rigsby is proud of the work his department does to keep the town of about 6,000 residents safe.
“It is safe (here),” he said, “but you still have to take universal precautions. Lock your doors.”
The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office experienced a slight increase in the number of crimes reported last year over 2010. There were 1,409 crimes reported in 2011, and 1,383 in 2010. But both are down from the 1,617 crimes reported in 2006.
In the rest of the county:
• Brentwood saw a slight drop in crime reported from 911 in 2010 to 907 in 2011, and a bigger decline from 2006 when 1,083 crimes were reported.
• Fairview’s crime reports decreased from five years ago, but had a minimal increase from 2010. Total number of crimes reported in Fairview in 2006 were 461, in 2010 there were 337 and in 2011 there were 373 crimes reported.
• In Spring Hill, the total number of crimes reported fell in 2011 from the year before, but increased from 2006. There were 1,134 crimes reported in 2011, 1,260 in 2010 and 824 crimes in 2006.