Former prosecutor warned of possible VRI problems before the program started

CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee(WDEF) – The man originally selected by Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke to become public safety director explained why he felt the Violence Reduction Initiative was going to run into problems in Chattanooga.

Former prosecutor turned defense attorney Gerald Webb told News 12 he warned Mayor Andy Berke the VRI would run into problems in Chattanooga because gang activity and violence on the streets are a systematic societal problems that could not be solved overnight.

“There are huge societal issues that need to be looked at and that need to be dealt with before you will have any type of success with this type of program,” Webb said.

Webb explained how VRI works.

“The premise of the VRI, is that you would run surveillance with audio and video of individuals committing crimes. you would be able to go to them and say listen, we have audio and video surveillance of you committing crimes. You need to get into this program and stop the gang activity and stop committing the crimes. If not, we will turn this file over and you will be indicted for these crimes and you go off to the penitentiary for a long time,” Webb explained.

The former prosecutor said those are serious types of cases the DA’s office wants to prosecute. But both he and Attorney General Neal Pinkston told News 12 that Chattanooga police are not building those types of cases to make the VRI successful.

“The cases that in many respects are being brought to the attorney general’s office are criminal trespassing cases which are c-misdemeanors that only carry 30 days,” Webb said.

That means the people who are causing the most problems aren’t going away for a long time; which is why Webb feels police need to have a thorough understanding of how cases go through the legal system.

Meanwhile, city officials have long argued the VRI is working and have even pointed to statistics about crime reduction and the number of offenders who have been helped.

“Does VRI help some people? Of course it does. Of course there are some individuals who have taken advantage of the services that VRI offers. But for the most part, if you go into these neighborhoods and ask people if they feel safer or if the shooters are off the streets; if you ask people these questions, the response to that is no,” Webb said.

The question now is where do both law enforcement and city leaders go from here.

“People need to be able to sit down, look at this issue and look at what’s worked; look at what’s not worked then re calibrate and move into a different direction,” Webb said.

News 12 did not get comment from the Mayor’s office because last Thursday, Mayor Berk made it clear that he would not comment on the issue after issuing a written statement earlier in the week.