Knoxville, TN (WOKI) – The Knoxville Police Department and City of Knoxville’s Office of Community Safety have launched a new Project TLC zone in the Lonsdale Community.
Lonsdale, which falls within KPD’s West District, was selected as the newest Project TLC zone based on a review of fatal and non-fatal shooting data over the last five years. Over that period, there were four fatal and eight non-fatal shootings in the zone. Additionally, there were nearly 1,600 calls for service within the zone from March 1, 2024 through March 1, 2026. The zone officially launched on Monday, April 27, 2026.
“Project TLC is working well in East Knoxville, Montgomery Village, and Western Heights,” Mayor Indya Kincannon said. “When I spoke to Lonsdale neighbors earlier this month, they were excited to hear that their neighborhood would be getting a little more TLC soon. Our goal is to reduce crime and to foster positive community-building activities, which keep crime low long-term.”
Project TLC is one piece of KPD and the City’s layered violence prevention and crime reduction strategies. The place-based initiative utilizes a holistic approach to deterring violence and improving quality of life in areas disproportionality impacted by crime, with a particular focus on preventing gun violence. The effort is a long-term commitment to specific areas that relies on intentional community partnerships, engagement and feedback, visible police presence, walking patrols and connections to resources and service providers to address the underlying conditions that drive crime.
“Our place-based strategies have proven to be tremendously successful at preventing violence and improving quality of life throughout the Knoxville community,” Chief Paul Noel said. “Project TLC is a long-term commitment to neighborhoods that historically have experienced higher rates of gun violence. We look forward to working together with Lonsdale residents to make a lasting impact in their community.”
“Project TLC is a partnership-based, neighborhood centric initiative,” Director of Community Safety LaKenya Middlebrook said. “We are excited about the opportunity to partner with residents, community partners, service providers, KPD and other City departments serving the Lonsdale community in ways that meet the needs of folks who live, work, and visit this historic neighborhood.”
Three Project TLC zones are already in place and will remain active. The first zone, a 7.5-block area of East Knoxville, was established as a pilot in November 2023. The East TLC zone was selected after experiencing the highest number of fatal and non-fatal shootings in the City over the five-year period that was analyzed. After the East TLC zone was established, there was not a non-fatal or fatal shooting in that area for nearly 17 consecutive months.
In June 2024, additional TLC zones were added in the Montgomery Village and Western Heights communities.
Since the implementation and expansion of Project TLC, violent crime has dramatically decreased across the city. In 2024, non-fatal shootings dropped 45 percent compared to the year prior, while murders fell for the third straight year. In 2025, murders dropped 26 percent and matched a 10-year low for Knoxville while East Knoxville, Montgomery Village, and Western Heights, another 27 percent.
Through April 27, 2026, there had been no murders in the city and just two non-fatal shootings, down nearly 90 percent year-to-date. It is believed to be the longest stretch in the city without a murder since at least the early 1980s.
