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Chattanooga officers develop ‘community policing’ projects to address neighborhood problems

Officer Haley Gregory shines a light into an entry hole broken out of the wall of an abandoned home, large enough to be crawled into, on Friday in the Highland Park neighborhood. Officer Gregory has been working with community members to identify and solve the problem of abandoned houses in the neighborhood, which draw crime. Officer Haley Gregory shines a light into an entry hole broken out of the wall of an abandoned home, large enough to be crawled into, on Friday in the Highland Park neighborhood. Officer Gregory has been working with community members to identify and solve the problem of abandoned houses in the neighborhood, which draw crime.

By Kendi A. Rainwater March 14, 2015 5 min read

Chattanooga police officer Haley Gregory drives past abandoned houses every night on patrol.

The houses litter almost every block of Highland Park; many are dilapidated.

“Abandoned houses attract a lot of crime,” she said. “If it is empty, people are drawn there to cause trouble because they don’t think anyone is watching.”

The neighbors of Highland Park have been complaining about this problem for years, said Emerson Burch, who lives in the neighborhood.

“These houses are more than eyesores,” Burch said. “They are a threat to safety.”