Not bad, actually.
Nashville itself has a population of about 705,000 people. It may feel larger than that. The greater Nashville metropolitan area has a population of 2.15 million people, and approximately 17 million people visit the city annually. The amount of crime we experience does not seem excessive to me.
Recently, it was reported that based on 2024 crime data from the FBI, Nashville, Tennessee, my hometown, is the 8th most violent city in America. Even worse, the most violent city in America was Memphis, Tennessee. Nashville is the state's capital city and the most populous city in Tennessee. Memphis is our second-largest city.
Actually, the FBI does not produce a list of the top-ten cities for violent crime; other people do that looking at FBI crime stats. In fact, the FBI discourages city-to-city comparisons. If you think about it, you can understand why. The statistics only show what is reported. Consider a city that has a series of high-profile domestic violence incidents, and develops a campaign to combat domestic violence and puts resources into education, and urges people to report domestic violence, and people do. The statistics would show an increase in crime when what is really happening is an increase in reporting of crime. With those caveats that the top-ten list has its limitations, I will accept that Nashville is the 8th most violent city in America.
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Nashville is a great city, a wonderful place to live. The climate is nice, with four distinct seasons of about equal length, and no prolonged periods of terrible heat or cold, with only rare extreme weather events. The city is home to several universities, which adds to the flavor of the city. We have a wonderful park system. Being the capital, for those interested in political developments, there is a vibrancy to the city. Political rallies, protests, celebrations, and discussion groups, and political theater happen here.
If you like sports, we have a major league football team, hockey team, soccer team, and a minor league baseball team. We are a foodie city, have a lively art scene, and of course, music. In addition to the boisterous live music in the numerous honky-tonks of lower Broadway, there are many intimate bars where songwriters play their new music and where bands do not just play covers that sound like the original, but where artist hone their craft.
Also, there is always a themed festival of some sort going on, such as Wine on the River, Tomato Festival, Tin Pan South, Americana Fest, Art Crawl, and many, many more. I know this city well and have embraced all it has to offer.
I get out and about, not as much as I used to, but I still do. Labor Day weekend, I went to two days of the Musicians Corner music festival. I do the Art Crawl from time to time. I sometimes go to Lower Broad. On Sunday, I went to the Blues Jam at Elm Hill Pike Tavern. I often go to Santa's Pub for the Sunday night show, where you can always hear authentic, real country music. That is one of my favorite places. Doing all of these things, I never felt like it was a risky thing to do. I never feared I would be a victim of crime.
In addition to going to the places mentioned above by private car or Uber, I also walk. I walk for exercise and pleasure. I live only 2.1 miles from downtown, and can walk in any direction and have a destination. Sometimes I walk to Lower Broad or the Frist Museum, but those are long walks and I don't do those walks often. I often walk to Hillsboro Village, Wegewood-Houston, Fort Negley, Sevier Park, or the Fairgrounds, or Belmont University. All of these walks are about a 2.8 to 3-mile round-trip from my home. I know if you don't live here, you don't know these places, but they are interesting spots in the city. I have done my Sevier Park walk after dark and walked through the park. I have never felt I was in danger, and I don't go armed.
I have said all of the above to say that I know Nashville, and I experience Nashville, and I do not feel like I live in a dangerous city. The only time in which I have felt like the city was dangerous was during the BLM riots in May and June of 2020. During that time, Nashville, along with about 2000 other cities, were racked by violent demonstrations and lawlessness. Statues were toppled, the courthouse was attacked and a fire was set inside, police cars were set on fire, windows were broken, and buildings were spray-painted and looting occurred. Mobs blocked the interstate that circles the city and rocked cars and threatened drivers. During this period, I avoided downtown, avoided the Interstate loop, and went armed. That was an unusual period and only lasted a few weeks. Many cities had it a lot worse than we did.
So, if Nashville is the 8th most violent city in America, why don't I feel threatened? I don't think the violent crimes are crimes committed against random strangers. I think I have little to fear from living in this violent city.
Much of the crime is Black on Black crime, and much of that is among young Black men and is gang-related. Some of it is drug deals gone bad. I am not Black, young, in a gang, nor do I deal drugs. I regret that we have this violence in our city, and I am sorry Black young men are killing each other, but it really doesn't affect me. If I were Black and lived in the predominantly Black part of town, called North Nashville, I might feel different.
A horrendous event occurred in October last year near the Tennessee State University campus in North Nashville during homecoming weekend. Two rival gangs had a shootout at the intersection of Jefferson Street and 27th Avenue North, causing panic among those attending the street fair and disrupting the festivities. One person was killed and nine others, including three children, were wounded.
This type of occurrence creates a perception that Nashville is a dangerous city. However, this was one event and it occurred in a part of the city where I seldom have reason to go. As far as how it affects me and my perception of Nashville as a dangerous, violent city, it might as well have happened in Memphis or Chicago. Thousands upon thousands of people attend professional sporting events. music festivals, and concerts in town with no murders, rapes, or shootouts occurring.
Crime is not spread out evenly across the city. Other than the crime in predominantly Black North Nashville, some of the public housing projects and the areas around the housing projects seem to have a higher incidence of violent crime. I do not frequent those parts of town, simply because there is nothing of interest there to draw me to those parts of town. Most people in Nashville or visiting Nashville would not have a reason to visit these parts of town and one would not just wander into these areas by accident.
Downtown is safe. The honkytonk area of Lower Broad and the adjacent Gulch area is where most visitors to Nashville would visit. These areas are safe. Consumers in these areas pay an additional one-cent sales tax, which pays for beautification and additional security. There is a strong police presence in the area.
There is a pedestrian bridge that crosses the Cumberland River downtown and recently, some people were violently assaulted on that bridge by armed assailants. The attackers and the attacked did not know each other. This is the kind of attack that makes people feel unsafe. Considering that 17 million people visit Nashville each year, one is more likely to be hit by someone throwing a chair off of a rooftop bar than being assaulted, however.
Last September, a triple homicide occurred on Bart Drive in the Antioch community. In addition to the victims in the home, an innocent passerby on a bicycle was wounded. This is the kind of crime that scares people. I know someone who lives next door to where the murders occurred. What if she had been hit by a stray bullet? What if one of the victims had run to her house for refuge and the attackers had followed?
These murders were not random. The victims were identified as Antonio Munoz-Rizo (48), his son Jesus Manuel Munoz-Morales (28), and Jesus Gallardo-Ramirez (22), all with connections to the Atlanta area. The incident was believed to be related to a Hispanic prostitution operation. All of the attackers were Hispanic. It is these types of incidents that build anti-immigrant bias.
One could easily have a perception that a lot of our crime is committed by Hispanics. The local statistics do not support that. A lot of news reports of violent crime show both perpetrators and victims to be Hispanic. Even if it was true that we have an illegal immigrant crime problem, it only affects me if I am caught in the crossfire of a shootout. I am not Hispanic and I am not involved in crime.
Some of the violent crime in Nashville is domestic violence. While that is terrible, it does not affect me and does not make me feel less safe living in Nashville. It seems most of the victims and perpetrators of violent crime know each other.
There are things we could be doing better regarding the allocation of police forces, and our police department is undermanned. Despite that, crime is coming down in Nashville as it is in many other major cities. Actually, crime is lower now than in 1997, yet we have experienced a significant increase in population and tourism. Like I said at the start of this essay, I do not feel unsafe living in Nashville. I suspect people in Memphis feel the same way. Don't hang out with criminals and avoid certain parts of town, and you have little to fear.
Don't be afraid to visit Nashville. You are safe here. If you live in Nashville, don't be afraid to take a walk or visit the parks, or go out to a fine meal or a sporting event or enjoy live music. Don't cower in fear. Nashville is not a violent hellhole.
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