Police annual report shows drop in overall crime

But shootings, fatal overdoses and DUI were all up

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF – The Chattanooga Police Department has released their 2023 Annual Report on local crime. (Full report here.)

It shows a 12% drop in overall crime statistics in the city.

But violent crime remains a growing problem.

Chief Celeste Murphy says her department has focused on lowering the overall crime rate.

And she credits the Real Time Crime Intelligence Center with helping them do that.

From the report, crimes against property dopped by 11%, continuing a four year trend.

Burglary, larceny and theft from vehicles were all down in 2023.

Aggravated assaults also declined by 9% in 2023.

But other violent crimes were not as good.

Shootings were up, both fatal (25%) and non-fatal (7%).

Crimes Against Society (drugs, DUI, weapons) were also slightly up.

Those numbers have almost doubled over the last decade.

But sex crimes did drop in 2023.

Forcible Sex Offenses declined by 16% while kidnapping (including custodial) dropped by 21%.

Other details from the report:

— DUI cases saw a whopping 22% increase in 2023

— while the number of overdoses declined, fatal overdoses jumped by 20%.  They were most common in the downtown East Brainerd areas.

— Traffic collisions dropped by an amazing 39%

Chief Murphy says technology and data-crunching are important tools for grappling with modern crimes.

“As we continue to implement new technology, such as the drone first responder program, and increase our outreach efforts, our agency will expand our reach.”