The leader of Chattanooga's Violence Reduction Initiative, Paul Smith, is leaving to work for the national organization that consulted with city leaders on the anti-gang violence effort, a program that has come under fire in recent months.
Mayor Andy Berke's office announced Friday that Smith will become the strategic operations and policy specialist for the National Network for Safe Communities at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, a national nonprofit founded by criminologist David Kennedy.
Mayor Andy Berke and newly appointed Public Safety Coordinator Paul David Smith speak about the new position while at Hope For The Inner City in East Chattanooga on June 7.Smith will advise and provide support to cities, such as Chattanooga, that have implemented the National Network's model to reduce violence. The city of Chattanooga has paid the National Network $380,000 to help run VRI.
"Over the last three years, Paul has worked tirelessly to make Chattanooga safer and stronger - and his leadership will be missed throughout our community," Berke said in a prepared statement.
Berke hired Smith, the former principal of Howard School, in 2013 to be the city's public safety coordinator, a position Berke created when he took office.
Rolled out two years ago, VRI has been criticized by city leaders and local residents as gang-related murders and shootings have gone up. And most of the original VRI team has left the program.
In December 2014, VRI's point man, Chattanooga police Lt. Todd Royval, transferred out of the unit and then resigned from the police department, citing in emails his concerns with how the initiative was being run.
Ten months later, 11 of the 12 permanent members of the Chattanooga Police Department's Street Crimes Response Team, a key part of VRI, requested transfers out of the unit during a 10-day span. The 11 officers later left the unit.
In February, City Councilman Yusuf Hakeem blasted VRI as a "failed program." Other council members chimed in, questioning the initiative's effectiveness. Police in 2015 recorded more gang-related shootings than the previous two years and gang-related homicides were also up last year.
Both Berke and Police Chief Fred Fletcher have defended the program and the principles behind it. And both praised Smith on Friday for his work.
"Paul has helped move the needle on how we approach targeted violence reduction and community outreach in Chattanooga," Fletcher said in a prepared statement. "While we will miss his day-to-day guidance and support, we look forward to continuing to work with Paul in his new advising role at John Jay."
Smith, who declined to comment, will leave May 1.
The city didn't post Smith's position as a job opening internally or publicly, but city spokeswoman Marissa Bell said city officials have been interviewing candidates to replace him.
She said an announcement on Smith's replacement will be made in the coming weeks.
Contact staff writer Joy Lukachick Smith at jsmith@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6659.