Problem-Oriented Policing to Reduce Crime in Nashville, TN

Introduction: Nashville's Crime Challenge

Today, Nashville, Tennessee is home to approximately 700,000 residents, the vast majority of whom are hard-working, taxpaying citizens who want to create an even better city for themselves, their families, and the enterprises that provide them with employment opportunities. One local booster enthuses that "there are major U.S. cities on the East Coast and the West Coast that attract millions of visitors each year. In the south, there's Nashville. More than just a country music hot spot, Nashville is a 'small town trapped in a big city' that makes tourists curious about all that it has to offer" (Kollar, 2017, para. 3). Moreover, the combination of world-class entertainment venues, restaurants, cultural and historic attractions, and a vibrant nightlife scene make Nashville a major tourist destination for much of the country. Notwithstanding these many positive attributes, however, Nashville currently suffers from one of the highest violent crime rates in the nation — an issue that directly motivates the study proposed here.

Law enforcement agencies have made substantial progress in reducing violent crime and property crime rates in many municipalities across the country, and the United States can be regarded as significantly safer for its citizens today compared to the alarmingly high crime rates of the 1990s (Gramlich, 2020). Nevertheless, pockets of high crime rates remain firmly in place in some American cities despite ongoing efforts by law enforcement agencies to address these trends. Combating property and violent crime is a challenging enterprise at any time, but the devastating effects of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic have adversely affected employment levels in many cities, and a growing number of Americans face eviction and hunger. It is not surprising, then, that crime rates remain intractable in cities where unemployment rates were already a problem. This has been the case in Nashville, Tennessee, where unemployment skyrocketed from just under 5% to 15% during the height of the pandemic (Unemployment rate in Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro, 2021). The overarching purpose of the study proposed here is to identify optimal strategies for implementing a problem-oriented policing intervention to help reduce crime rates in Nashville, both today and in the future.

Today, the City of Nashville, Tennessee is more dangerous to live in than 97% of all American cities of comparable size (Nashville crime rates, 2021), and recent violent and property crime statistics indicate that the problem is worsening, especially with respect to property crimes. Certainly, the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has adversely affected virtually every American community — increasing unemployment levels and contributing to mental health issues that likely account for some of these crimes — but it is also clear that Nashville city leaders face a serious and pressing challenge. One evidence-based law enforcement strategy that can help Nashville reduce its crime rates is problem-oriented policing. The purpose of this study is to propose a field test of a problem-oriented policing crime reduction program for Nashville that can be used to evaluate its appropriateness for city-wide implementation. To this end, a systematic review of the relevant literature is followed by the study's guiding research questions and the targeted subjects for study.

Background and Overview of Crime in Nashville

With a population of about 700,000 people, Nashville is Tennessee's state capital and the home of the world-famous entertainment venue the Grand Ole Opry. At present, however, Nashville is also a relatively dangerous place to live compared to national averages (Crime in Nashville, 2020). Like much of the rest of the country, property crime remains far more common in Nashville than violent crime (Gramlich, 2020), but one in every 90 residents is still likely to become a victim of violent crime each year, and another one in 24 is a probable victim of property crime (Nashville crime rates, 2021).

While the economic costs of property crimes are readily quantifiable, the costs associated with violent crimes transcend individual economic calculations and extend to harm entire neighborhoods and communities. In this regard, the U.S. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (2020) emphasizes that "exposure to violence in a community can be experienced at various levels, including victimization, directly witnessing acts of violence, or hearing about events from other community members" (Crime and violence, 2020, para. 3).