Knoxville Police Department highlights crime statistics, departmental changes in annual report

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - Tuesday, the Knoxville Police Department released its yearly report, outlining crime statistics from 2022 to 2023 and departmental updates.

The report opens with a letter from Chief of Police Paul Noel, where he highlighted some of the department’s “wins.”

Noel opened by saying KPD met and exceeded its goals for 2023, which were focused on four areas: crime, community, culture and career development. The chief said Knoxville’s murder count dropped by 35%, non-fatal shootings dropped by more than 10% and car burglaries dropped by over 30%. This, all compared to 2022 data.

Noel also said the department made good progress on solving crimes. He said KPD closed more than 70% of the murder cases that happened in 2023, which he said was much more than the national average for law enforcement agencies.

Looking into the city-wide data (which has not been audited by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation yet), there was a decent drop in some types of crime, with others on the rise.

For example, from 2022 to 2023, Knoxville saw an eight-percent increase in aggravated assaults — 911 to 987 — and a 44% increase in “other” assaults — 599 to 861. Drug offenses also grew from 2,686 in 2022 to 3,049 in 2023, a 14% increase.

Other types of crime dropped, however, according to KPD’s data. Thefts from cars dropped from 2,305 to 1,528 (34%) and murders saw a 34% decrease, as mentioned by the chief in his letter, from 35 to 23.

Crime wasn’t the only focus of the report, however; KPD also highlighted departmental updates like KPD’s status in the Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement (ABLE) program and KPD’s Office of Professional Standards.

KPD is still the only Tennessee law enforcement agency to take part in the ABLE program, which is aimed at giving officers and employees extra accountability training. The department joined in August of 2022 and started training in April of 2023.

Previous Coverage: Knoxville Police Department begins ABLE training, aimed at preventing misconduct

KPD also mentioned its new Office of Professional Standards. Previously the Internal Affairs Unit, the office includes a Chief of Professional Standards, who oversees police and procedure evaluations to make sure officers are doing their jobs by the book.

Brooklyn Belk originally held the Chief of Professional Standards position but resigned after five months on the job. She was replaced by Federal Judge H. Bruce Guyton, who was brought in as a tentative replacement. A permanent replacement has still not been announced.

Previous Coverage: Knoxville police deputy chief of professional standards resigns after 5 months, interim replacement named

As far as department investigations, KPD reported a total of 42 incidents where employees or officers broke department policy. In 2023, five of those resulted in suspension, two in termination and one in demotion.

KPD also focused on administrative changes over 2023 like moving into Knoxville’s new Public Safety Complex and hiring more recruits. The entire report is linked below: