JEFFERSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE) — The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office released a snapshot of crime data from 2021 on Facebook. The data shows that overall the county has seen a decrease in property crime but an increase in violent crime.

Officers with the department answered 23971 calls for service and drove 1.2 million miles patrolling the county in 2021. In property crime, JCSO saw a 12% decrease in burglaries and a 10% decrease in thefts. When it comes to drugs and alcohol, there was a 72% increase in drug arrests and a 10% increase in DUI arrests.

Sheriff Jeff Coffey said he had great concerns when it comes to drug use and violent crimes which he shared often go hand and hand. There were two more homicides from the previous year and aggravated assaults saw an increase of 76% in 2021. Coffey said that a large percentage of these assaults are domestic-related and often involved drug use. In fact, drug overdoses have increased by 135%.

Coffey also shared that he wants to “personally thank the citizens of Jefferson County for their continued support of our deputies who are out patrolling and committed to keeping our citizens safe.”