If the first quarter is any indication, many of the crime trends Chattanooga saw in 2023 are continuing in 2024. And going in the right direction.
Aggravated assault, for instance, declined 9% from 2022 to 2023 in Chattanooga and dropped 20.85% in the city in the first quarter of 2024. Robbery was down 16% from 2022 to 2023 and is down 15.91% in the first quarter of this year. Burglary, off 10% from 2022 to 2023, is down 11.11% in the first quarter of 2024. Similarly, auto burglary fell 19% from 2022 to 2023 and is off another 8.88% in the first quarter of this year.
But the numbers in several categories are going the wrong way.
Homicide, for example, was up 11% (three additional homicides) from 2022 to 2023 in the city but is up 40% (seven murders as opposed to five) in the first quarter of 2024. And auto theft was down 1% from 2022 to 2023 in Chattanooga but is up 23.55% in the first quarter of 2024.
Although information on non-fatal shootings is not available for the first quarter of 2024, such shootings were up 7% in Chattanooga from 2022 to 2023. And while the information does not delineate between fatal and non-fatal shootings with stolen guns, we believe one can infer that many of those shootings came with stolen guns.