City Council Members remain optimistic after Street Crimes Response Team’s numbers drop

Chattanooga, TN (WDEF) – They may be down, but city council members say they’re not out after 11 out of 15 members of the Chattanooga Police Department’s Street Crimes Response Team recently asked to be transferred out of the unit.

"We have some that I think decided it’s time to come out, and at the same time we have others that are saying that it’s time to join up and come into the VRI," said councilmen and chair of the Public Safety Committee, Chip Henderson.

The team was first created in 2007, and is now a major part of the Violence Reduction Initiative (VRI). The group’s main focus is reducing gang violence, and crime trends. And so far, council members say crime has been on a slow but steady decline.

"We’ve reduced crime overall in the department the first year by 19.7 percent, and we think we’re doing it the right way," said councilmen and vice chairman of the city council, Moses Freeman.

Even though numbers are down, skeptics of the Crimes Response Team argue there are still too many shootings in Chattanooga. "We can’t tell you that all the shootings are gonna stop," said Freeman, "I don’t think that we can ever promise that. What we’re doing is trying to make our streets safer. We’re hoping that people will feel safer."

Ten officers and one sergeant asked to remain in the department, only with a different unit. According to official paperwork they each listed personal reasons, such as scheduling and career aspirations, to explain their reasoning behind the transfer requests.