County Mayor Weston Wamp said the latest Hamilton Counted report shows drug overdose deaths down, but murders within the city up.
He said, "Over the last two years, I have met people from all walks of life who have shared their unique journeys with me, helping to shape the priorities and initiatives of the County Mayor’s office.
"As we continue to focus much of our effort on students and young families, Hamilton Counted has provided countywide insights into the challenges we face. This data project has forced us to confront the reality that many in our community are being left behind as Hamilton County continues to be a regional leader in job growth and quality of life.
"For example, while overall crime is down across Hamilton County, murders within the city of Chattanooga have risen. Throughout the first half of 2024, murders have increased nearly 42 percent when compared to 2022, while nonfatal shootings in Chattanooga have remained steady year-over-year.
"The harsh reality of violent crime in our community should serve as a challenge to those of us in leadership positions to continue to pursue pathways to productive futures for our young men.
"The most encouraging data in this report shows that for the second consecutive quarter, fatal overdoses have decreased, dropping nearly 30 percent over the first half of the last two years. Every death is a tragedy, a family forever changed, which is why the county funded a chief opioid prosecutor, who is hard at work prosecuting dealers of these deadly drugs.
"So far, the District Attorney’s Office has successfully convicted five individuals on second-degree murder or distribution of drugs resulting in death. In this year’s county budget, we funded the creation of the Center for Thriving Families in the face of increasing enrollment in the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program.
"Fortunately, nearly $600,000 of additional funding has been made available for four more nutrition educators to assist families in need. Another ominous data point is the number of food boxes distributed by the Chattanooga Area Food Bank rising nearly 77 percent through the first half of the year, compared to two years ago.
"Furthering the county’s commitment to assisting families in need, we allocated funding to the Food Bank in this year’s budget and are exploring opportunities for the Center for Thriving Families to partner with the Food Bank to serve vulnerable families in our county.
"In the long run, Hamilton Counted will reveal our improvement in key areas or lack thereof. Government too often lacks both transparency and accountability, but our aim with this data project is to increase both.
"As we begin to prepare the Q3 Hamilton Counted report (in an all-new format in partnership with local firm Datably), our hope is that this newly accessible data will serve as a guide to better direct investment of local tax dollars to strategies that work and neighborhoods in need."
The full report is at