Solving the Crime Problem

On Friday, the very morning of yet another violent murder in Chattanooga, local and state officials gather to find a solution to the crime problem. Senator Andy Burke called an all day hearing Friday to discuss the dangerous situation and how to solve it.

Berke says, "There are those crimes that are preventable and we need to work to stop those crimes before they happen."

It's been the same familiar scene throughout many streets in Chattanooga and throughout much of this past year. Berke says, "Just this morning a 16 year old boy was killed in Brainerd, one of his companions was shot, we have got to look at how we stop these things from happening."

That boy was Isaac Robinson, his murder early Friday morning happened just before this hearing began to find a solution to escalating amount of violent crime in the area.

One citizen at the hearing says, "This one thing is really needed to prevent our community from going to the grave or to the jail."

Citizens weighed in on their concerns while local elected officials, church leaders, and even law enforcement voiced their opinions about why the violence is hitting our streets so hard.

Hamilton County District Attorney Bill Cox says, "It's no mystery over the last few years we've had an increase in gang violence in Chattanooga, we've had several high profile homicide cases that the media has covered that involve gang activity."

That gang activity is what people on both sides of the justice system say is driving the crime in our neighborhoods. Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond says, "These kids are so hungry to draw a relationship with a positive influence and that is hard in the school setting."

But Chattanooga Police say they're attacking the hard problem, and on September 19th put a dent in the number of gang members on the street by putting forty behind bars. Chattanooga Deputy Chief Mark Rawlston says, "We have targeted specific gang groups, gang sects that have been problems in the Chattanooga area."

But everyone at the hearing agreed there's still a long way to go, and still no clear answer on how to keep the gangs out and keep people in the city safe. Berke says, "If we're gonna work, play, live in Chattanooga, this is the foundation that we build on to know that we have safe streets."

Many people who run programs that are trying to counteract young people turning to crime say more community support is needed. They say another problem is that once criminals get out of jail, they often don't know where to go or how to get work, especially since Chattanooga only has one half way house. To put that in perspective, Nashville has 55.

Law enforcement also stated that even though the city's general crime rate is down two percent from last year... but Chattanooga's homicide rate is up.