Posted on 10/21/2007 6:43:13 AM PDT by Tennessee Nana
A national study of population and crime data shows the Cleveland, Tenn., area has a higher rate of violent offenses than larger metro hubs such as Chattanooga.
Dalton, Ga., meanwhile, ranks near the bottom of metropolitan areas for per capita violent crime, according to the study by Dr. Richard Rosenfeld, a professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Dr. Rosenfeld said his report is designed "to construct a discussion about the various conditions in communities that give rise to crime."
The study is based on data from the FBI's "Crime in the United States 2006" report and uses murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault offenses to quantify violent crime rates per 100,000 residents.
The population calculations are part of the FBI's data, and were not calculated by Dr. Rosenfeld.
Dr. Rosenfeld said he chose to analyze data from metropolitan regions rather than single cities to include crime rates from booming bedroom communities. Atlanta's crime figures, for example, include the city's sprawling suburban 28-county region of 5 million people.
The Cleveland metro area of Bradley and Polk counties ranked 53rd out of 311 national metro areas included in Dr. Rosenfeld's report. It was the fourth highest of 10 Tennessee metropolitan areas.
Memphis topped the list, while Jackson and Nashville were in the top 20.
The six-county Chattanooga metro area ranked 59th.
Dalton's metro region, which includes Whitfield and Murray counties, had the second lowest per capita violent crime rating of the nine Georgia metro regions listed. Only Gainesville ranked lower.
Whitfield County Sheriff Scott Chitwood said he doesn't "get excited about numbers like that," even when the rankings shows his region in a good light.
"Naturally low numbers are better than high numbers, but (in) the next report someone may make it up to say we are a major threat in the community," Sheriff Chitwood said.
Many law enforcement officials said they don't give independent crime ratings much attention, either.
Dalton Police Department spokeswoman Kristy Hunter said independent crime ratings may be used for reference, but she said the department prefers "to use information that is up-to-the-minute in terms of how we address crime prevention."
Violent crimes were down 18 percent in Dalton from 2001 to last year, according to FBI data. Ms. Hunter said that is a result of the department "changing to a problem-solving philosophy instead of just reacting to reported crimes."
Bradley County Sheriff Tim Gobble, on the other hand, said his jurisdiction has seen a surge in 911 calls, an increase in thefts and growth in drug use.
Sheriff Gobble said he has tried increasing manpower to address the growing crime rate, and he is in a well-documented legal battle with Bradley County for more funding. He said Dr. Rosenfeld's reports documents the changes in population and crime in Bradley County.
"I would agree in some aspects of it that you don't want to put complete stock in one set of statistics, but you have to look at an overall picture. The numbers are the numbers," Sheriff Gobble said.
"It confirms what I have been saying all along (which) is that we are a growing community (and) as our population increases our crime rate naturally follows that," he said.
The FBI discourages agencies from using crime data to rank cities and regions, and warns users on its Web site that "rough rankings provide no insight into the numerous variables that mold crime."
Stephen G. Fischer Jr., the FBI's chief of multimedia productions, said "rankings lead to a simplistic and/or incomplete analysis that can create misleading perceptions that may adversely affect the cities, counties, etc."
Dr. Rosenfeld said he agreed that crime rankings often do not provide insight and that they can cast negative perceptions on areas ranked as having high crime.
But, he said analyzing public crime data can lead to positive discussions about combating crime, and crime ratings shouldn't stop.
"Lots of things can spook people. Cancer rates can spook people. Should we suppress cancer comparisons?" Dr. Rosenfeld asked.
"Sometimes we need to know bad news in order to correct a problem," he said.
E-mail Ryan Harris at rharris@timesfreepress.com
Hmmmmmmmmmm And thousands off illegal aliens pouring into Bradley County really dont make that much difference in the crime rate now does it, Sheriff Gobble?
The increased manpower he mentions were officers to be trained in 287g
I read the arrest reports for Dalton nearly every day. Classify DUI, weed and Meth violent crimes, and Dalton would compete with any community for top honors.
PING
Yes, this report about Dalton is a bit strange...
But crime in Cleveland is up drastically...
In a related item, the Cleveland Indians were badly stomped by the Boston Red Sox on Saturday night; however, the assault took place in Boston’s Fenway Park, rather than within the city limits of Cleveland, properly speaking.
Feel free to call in tonight. I’ll be on at 10 pm est. at http://blogtalkradio.com/freedom
Hope you are well, Noey.
BUMP
Clearly, this “report” is part of a political operation by the Fred DALTON Thompson campaign machine.
Hi HC,
Your show starts at 10PM?
I should be home from church by then...
I’ll call in...
:)
Wonderful.
I figure I’d move it to after bachelor and before Terry A. Couldn’t hurt.
I hope you are well.
Yes, I’m fine...
How’s yourself?
I moved to Cleveland TN when I was 13 in 1967 and lived there until 1989 when I moved to McMinn Co. (Riceville/Athens) I still work in Cleveland and have for 31 years but NO WAY I would move back there to live. While I would never consider it to be as bad as Chattanooga, it is getting there fast. Hopefully I can retire in 10 years and won’t have to go down there every day. It’s nothing like the friendly little town it was in the 60’s.
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