Chattanooga sees decrease in homicides

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — Investigators with the Chattanooga Police Department say homicides are down 50 percent from this time last year.

Rosemary Porter has lived in Alton Park for more than ten years. She says a couple years ago there was a lot of crime.

“Every week, every other week, at least once or twice a month, someone was getting shot. There were shootings, murders. This happened all over the area, not just on this street,” Porter said.

She says it had everyone on edge.

“People were afraid to even sit on the porch, because you didn’t know when something was going to happen, when it was going to happen, to who it was going to happen to. So it was frightening and it was dangerous for the kids,” Porter said.

Recently she’s noticed change.

“I’ve actually seen it calm down and quiet down considerably and it is a lot more peaceful,” she said.

Chattanooga Police say the homicide rate is down significantly. Before Friday, there were eight homicide this year. Now there are nine. This time last year there were sixteen.

Investigators attribute the decrease to the teamwork they have in the homicide unit and also support from residents.

“If they provide us with the information, they trust us. We are going to use that information to make an arrest. When the community sees that we are making more arrests they know that we are using the information that all builds trust and we are out in the community more. So it is a combination of a lot of things that are coming together,” said Sergeant Victor Miller, with the Chattanooga Police Department.

Porter hopes this trend continues.

“I would just like to encourage the residents in our community to get involved. Instead of just talking about things that are not right, to get together, to come together and try to come together to bring about more peace in our neighborhood,” she said.

Chattanooga Police say they’ve also recently invested a lot in training investigators.

They also credit the homicide unit tip line as being helpful. People can call the number and remain anonymous. It is 423-643-5100.