Memphis police are considering tallying homicides differently, which would make the city's totals smaller.
The Commercial Appeal reports that if the Memphis Police Department would start counting similar to the Tennessee Incident Based Reporting System, or TIBRS, not all of the record 228 homicides in 2016 would meet the definition of murder. TIBRS is gathered by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
Memphis police currently count justifiable homicides in their total, while TIBRS does not.
TIBRS counts homicides in the year they occurred, not when the act was ruled a homicide.
And TIBRS doesn't account for fetal deaths, despite a 2012 state law mandating that the death of a fetus must be ruled a homicide.
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokesman Josh DeVine says TIBRS lines up with the FBI.
