From left are County Comissioner Chester Bankston, Jenny McFarland, Sheriff Hammond, club president Tommy Crangle and Larry Grohn
photo by John Shackleford
Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond laid out his department’s plan to better connect with communities and combat gang activity in a speech at the Nightside Pachyderm Club at the Ooltewah Western Sizzlin restaurant Thursday night.
Sheriff Hammond said parents and adults needed to take back the reins in families, linking it to the issues of crime, gangs, and delinquency. The sheriff urged the group of about 30 to get involved in neighborhood watches.
“Let me tell you that, folks, we’re in trouble when it comes to our kids,” he said.
Wanting to reach high-risk children at the elementary school level, Sheriff Hammond shared his plan to place two school resource officers into each public elementary school by August.
Currently, there are no SRO officers in Hamilton County public schools. The new test program will in beta mode for the 2012-2013 school year.
“My theory is if you’re going to stop this madness of getting into delinquency, getting into gangs, is that you got to go to the high-risk elementary schools when kids first get off-track,” the sheriff said.
One club member asked about gangs in the county and their migration.
“We have regular round-ups now,” the speaker said. He added gang activity has somewhat migrated partly due to law enforcement and as a result of downtown revitalization. Hixson is one area where gang activity has risen.
“It’s a multi-faceted thing,” he said. Sheriff Hammond said he believes Chattanooga’s gang problem to be no worse and no better than other mid-sized cities across the nation. Fifteen to 20 serious gangs exist here, with many “wannabe” gangs, he said.
The subject of neighborhood watches also came up. Sheriff Hammond said his department is using this tool to combat crime at a grassroots level with help from businesses and private citizens.
He said that guns were not part of the 160 neighborhood watches in the county.
“We don’t let the captains of those neighborhood watches carry guns and follow people,” he said, in a reference to the Trayvon Martin case.
Sheriff Hammond said he wants citizens to use new technology that opens up doors for his department. One woman used her phone to text him a photo of marijuana plants growing on a neighbor’s porch, easily helping start an investigation.
“That’s the kind of stuff we love to see,” he said.
Enhancing the current reserve officer program is another of the sheriff’s goals. Currently the program has 35 to 50 active officers. Sheriff Hammond told the crowd of Republicans he’d like to see 60 officers actively volunteering.
Reserve officers are volunteers who go through police training and help out officers out with situations such as directing traffic and storm cleanup.
Sheriff Hammond also described his dream of expanding a law enforcement foundation under the sheriff’s department. He said in an effort to stay transparent, donations are handled by the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga. The fund currently contains about $150,000. His goal is to build the fund to $2 million.
One member asked about the possibility of police officers using Volkswagen cars. While some VW cars are used for non-patrol purposes, Sheriff Hammond said the price is still too steep for vehicles not equipped for intense police use.
Former state representative Bobby Wood, sole House District 29 candidate Mike Carter and County Commissioner Chester Bankston were present at Thursday night’s meeting.