Chattanooga on Top 100 Least-Safe cities? Why? (Knoxville, Kingsport: relocate, military, work)

[Mary77]

Chattanooga is #41 on the list of least-safe cities in the US. I was very surprised to see this because I don't think of Chattanooga as a large city. We are thinking of moving from Vermont to Chattanooga next summer, but I was worried when I saw this ranking. Is this due to tourism? Are there areas of Chattanooga with dangerous areas of town? Do people avoid the city after dark?

[SPLIT]

Mary: Many of us enjoy the rural outskirts of Chatt, and the OverSupply of Churches in the county. Yes there has been quite a bit of newspaper and TV stories about the south side of the city core after darkness. This is not the tourist section. Domestic disputes, neighbors fights, drug deals gone bad. Homeless section of town, etc etc. Even a police Sgt arrested for his 911 dispatcher wife(T.Parker) mystery disappearance.
. You might be right the statictics are adding up and some people do strange things after dark, but the neighborly church communities around Hamilton county are very active and enjoyable. Many music jam sessions thru week, community centers for pot luck parties, holiday festivals, military support. .Large sporting clubs , Pro golf tour last weekend, prior 5,000 women runners / walkers for Breast cure 5k trot in city streets. 2nd largest river rowing regatta in country coming in Nov. Our nine day/night Riverbend music festival in June.
. Area has lots to offer and still should look to relocate in suburbs, will leave a light on for ya.!

[beachbyrd]

Actually, downtown Chattanooga is very safe. They have worked hard to create a downtown where people can actually be out and about walking and enjoying the many activities. I cannot speak to the actual stats, except to say that the news has so many more positive stories here than we saw in Florida (or in other areas of the country I have lived). I mean, you hear crime reported on the news, but it is much less frequently. Someone on here said it is difficult to make assumptions based on statistics, because all cities report crime differently. If someone is arrested with multiple charges, do all cities report all of those charges? I don't know.

I feel very safe here and there are so many wonderful parks to enjoy!! We love the downtown and surrounding areas. We spent our anniversary exploring the whole area by foot, with our two-year old. It is a great city for walking or biking.

There are areas where crime is higher, and no, I would not feel comfortable being around some of them at night. I am sure there are areas I would not want to be in during the day, either, but I have not seen them yet. I am a social worker though, so I am a little bit immune to that than I used to be. I am always careful even in the best neighborhoods. I guess we have to be in this day.

[jabogitlu]

I certainly do not know this for sure, but if you're truly researching moving there, you might want to research how they report crimes. I know recently Knoxville was rated as more dangerous than LA and New York, and it was all because they report each crime committed separately which is different than many other cities.

[antiquesmountainapache]

I lived in the Chattanooga area for five years and absolutely loved it. Every area in the country has safety issues in certain areas. I certainly don't have the mobility in metro Atlanta that I had in Chattanooga, but the home I grew up in is located here.

[sway77]

To be honest with you, anyone would have to be an idiot to be walking anywhere by themselves in the dark in any city. It's common sense. You never know what could happen.
Jails are over populated.
Schools are over populated.
Chattanooga is just another city.
I've lived here all my life in Collegedale TN and it's really not that bad. You hear about crime and murder, but what about the stuff that isn't reported? I'd be more worried about the cities that didn't have high crime than the cities that do. At least we know that are guys are catching the criminals.

[jkmewright]

Good points Sway. I have lived here most of my life, primarily in middle class residential areas, and have had no real worries. We have cruised downtown at night riding the shuttle and besides the bums who ask for change nothing seems to go on. Our downtown area is VERY pedestrian friendly. Not once have I hesitated to attend an event there at any time of day. However, I DO work in a very rough part of town and would not hang out there at night. Anyone with half a brain would know these spots and beware. I would have never thought that we were on a high crime/least safe list.

[mbmouse]

Well, maybe Chat reports "crime" the same way Kingsport does? The Tri-Cities were listed as "high crime" too and I live here and just don't see it and feel very safe, so I did a little research and came up with some interesting info, you can check it out here: Interesting info about crime stats in TN
Maybe Chat police and sheriffs do the same? Does anyone know anyone in that profession who they could ask?