Crime statistics are down across the board in Knoxville - and nowhere is that more evident than in the East Knoxville TLC area.

Citywide, the Knoxville Police Department's 2024 priority crime report shows a slight decrease in murders in Knoxville. But the number of victims - 23 - is well below the five-year historical average of 31.

Meanwhile, the number of citywide non-fatal shooting victims was down 45 percent - and that's also half the five-year historical average.

Look closely at KPD's East District: The number of murders dropped from 24 in 2022 to 8 in 2024.

And zoom in further to the East Knoxville Place-Based Strategy (PBS) zone - better known as the Tender Loving Care East zone, bounded by Cherry Street, Linden Avenue, Spruce Street and Wilson Avenue. It was designated for extra attention in November 2023 because it was then a high-crime area.

There were no murders last year inside the TLC East.

Zero.

Why the dramatic turnaround? 

Credit community policing - officers walking the beat, residents getting to know their neighborhood officers, and vice versa. It also reflects more rigorous neighborhood codes enforcement. And it's residents engaging with the City and other partners - and, most importantly, with one another.


'How does the community feel?'

Crime statistics tell an important story.

But Star Starks, the Partnerships & Programs Coordinator with the City's Office of Community Safety and Empowerment, has a different set of numbers that she values just as much.

Last September, her office canvassed a seven-block area alongside staffers with McNabb Center, Cherokee Health Systems, the Office of Neighborhood Empowerment and Codes Enforcement.

They listened to what the neighbors had to say, heard their needs, and conducted a survey.

"The numbers complement one another and show it's working," Starks said. "Crime is down, we know that. But how does the community feel?"

More than two-thirds of the residents in the survey said they'd seen a positive change in their community within the past 12 months.

Half said they felt safer. Another third said their sense of safety was about the same. Only 3 percent said they felt less safe.

Forty-four percent of the residents praised their neighborhood KPD officers' helpfulness as "excellent," "very good" or "good." Half the residents had had no direct interaction or did not answer the survey question.

What was the residents' top safety concern?

It wasn't gun violence, or drugs, or burglaries. The residents wanted traffic-calming speed humps. That was their #1 issue.

"Once you feel safe, you can think about and dream about other things - like slowing down traffic," Starks said. 

"The goal was to build trust within the community - get to know your patrol officers. We're hearing: The residents are talking with us, and they know us."




Demolishing derelict houses and mowing thick, tall grasses also reduces crime opportunities, she said.

"Our Codes Enforcement crews also walk the TLC, and their work helps people take pride in their neighborhood," Starks said. "All of these steps build up the neighborhood.

"Before, families were afraid to let their kids play outside. Now, with the community policing and codes enforcement, it's cleaner, and there's an increased sense of safety.

"It builds up a neighborhood. The kids get to play together and get to know one another. Everyone feels like they're a part of a community - not just a cluster of houses."


'Significant drops' in violent crimes

Crime is not just down inside the TLC. The entire East District is safer.

"Starting in November of 2023, the East District was tasked with being the pioneer for Project TLC," Capt. Nevin Long said. "We utilized crime data to select a 7.5-block area of East Knoxville to start, as it was the epicenter of both fatal and non-fatal shootings for the city over multiple years.

"Since then, we have concentrated our efforts, working with the community and other City departments such as the Office of Community Safety & Empowerment and Codes Enforcement, to bring a comprehensive, non-enforcement-based approach to the area. Since its inception, we have had no fatal or non-fatal shootings in the zone.

"Additionally, we have not seen a displacement in violent crime to other portions of the district, as all of our violent crime numbers have seen significant drops over the same timeframe."

A "non-enforcement-based approach" means helping residents in a variety of ways.

For example, at the October 2023 neighborhood "Chat and Chill" cookout gathering, Starks met a young mother who had recently immigrated to the United States. She was unemployed and struggling to get her family rooted, but the City and a host of nonprofit partners provided clothing and other assistance. Now, the mom has a job and is self-sufficient.

"She's working, connected with her neighbors, and she's really started to flourish," Starks said.

Police Chief Paul Noel is enthusiastic about the effectiveness of TLC zones. In fact, the City has started two more TLC zones - one in Montgomery Village and another in Western Heights.

"I am extremely proud of the tireless efforts of our officers throughout 2024," Noel said, referring to the citywide statistics documenting a sharp decline in violence. "They were relentless in their commitment to work with residents to make our community safer and remove violent individuals from the street. The teamwork and attention to detail at all layers of the department made a difference."

KPD reported a 22 percent drop in reported car burglaries citywide, a 15 percent drop in burglary or breaking and entering reports, and a 12 percent drop in motor vehicle theft reports.

Read KPD's preliminary 2024 priority crime report by clicking HERE.