New Report: Is Crime in Chattanooga as Bad as Locals Think?

Major crime is under control, but public disorder remains a serious challenge

NEW YORK, NY — Crime remains a pressing concern for Americans, even as rates of violence have receded from 2022 peaks. An apt example is crime perception in the small but rapidly growing city of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Manhattan Institute polling conducted in February found that three-quarters of Chattanooga residents consider public safety a major issue, including majorities of both sexes and all age groups, races, and political affiliations. Chattanoogans feel unsafe, particularly at night and while out in public. In a new Manhattan Institute report, fellow Charles Fain Lehman considers whether this perception of crime is accurate and what might be driving it. 

Based on an expansive review of crime data in Chattanooga, Lehman finds the city did experience an increase in serious crime during the pandemic, similar to other cities. However, that increase has largely abated with levels returning to pre-2020 normals across a number of major crime categories. The Chattanooga Police Department (CPD) successfully curbed serious crimes, though dwindling staffing made it unable to devote necessary attention to preserving public order and managing petty crime. Thus, it’s no surprise petty crime and disorder have remained elevated over pre-pandemic normal, which may account for the safety concerns Chattanoogans report.  

Chattanooga, Hamilton County, and the broader Chattanooga metropolitan area have all grown significantly since 2020—about 1% per year, per Census data. Lehman outlines several principles that can help residents feel safe and convince new arrivals to stay. These include: 

• Invest in police: Policing is an effective strategy for reducing disorder, and seeking supplementary support from outside CPD can alleviate staffing shortages.
• Devote resources to community problem solving: Dedicating a CPD detail to interagency-dependent, community-based problem solving to identify specific social problems that drive disorder.
• Target problem properties: For poorly managed residential or commercial properties that generate disorder and crime, implement interventions which pressure owners of such properties to address their issues or face serious penalty.
• Invest in beautification: Cleaning up and greening otherwise unattended areas of Chattanooga might make the city not only prettier but more orderly and safer.
• Address homelessness: For the homeless who have come from other parts of the state, region, or country, it can be more cost-effective and humane to help them return to communities where they have connections.
• Evaluate 423 Chainbreakers program: Chattanooga should commit resources to a rigorous, randomized, or quasi-randomized evaluation to determine the impact of its community violence intervention program.
• Be vocal about crime prevention efforts: Local stakeholders often appear unaware of Chattanooga’s steps, or of their success, in curbing crime. CPD could do much more to make clear to the public that it is using evidence-based tools to combat violent crime. 

Click here to view the full report.