A summer spike in vehicle break-ins has left many Chattanooga residents footing repair bills, filing police reports and, in at least one case, moving out of downtown altogether.
Auto thefts and vehicle break-ins jumped from 27 reported incidents the week ending June 6 to 111 the week ending June 20, according to Chattanooga Police Department Auto Crimes Sgt. Randy Raulston. He said those figures are likely underestimates, considering they don’t include unreported cases.
The crime spree two weeks ago was one of the largest since 2020, when schools let out during the pandemic and the number of auto thefts and burglaries jumped 75% in one year, according to previous Chattanooga Times Free Press reporting.