A recent report shows that violent crime rose for the second straight year in Chattanooga, climbing to nearly 664 incidents per 100,000 residents. State Senator Andy Berke is on the case, holding a public forum tomorrow at the Hamilton County Commission Room starting at 10 a.m. to discuss crime issues. Joining the senator are fellow General Assembly members Bo Watson and JoAnne Favors along with the Ochs Center's David Eichenthal, who will present data on local crime, and Dr. David Kennedy of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. In a press release on the forum, Sen. Berke said:
Crime is an issue that affects us all, and without serious discussion of innovative strategies to reduce crime in our area, our citizens will continue to suffer. In this hearing, I am bringing together local, state, and national leaders so that we can work together to seek new strategies. Please join me, other members of the General Assembly, community, academic, and law enforcement leaders for this hearing as we discuss the critical issue of crime on Friday.
The tentative schedule for the event is listed below: 10:00-10:15: Introduction by Sen. Berke and remarks from other members of the General Assembly 10:15-10:45: Presentation of Local Crime Data by David Eichenthal (the President and CEO of the Ochs Center for Metropolitan Studies) 10:45-12:00: Presentation by Dr. David Kennedy (Director of the Center for Crime Prevention and Control at The John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City.) 12:00-12:30: Lunch (provided) 12:30-1:15: Community Panel including Pastor Ternae Jordan (the leader of STOP the Madness), Tim Dempsey (CEO of Chattanooga Endeavors), and former City Councilman Reverend Mike Feeley 1:15-2:00: Local Law Enforcement Panel including Sheriff Jim Hammond, Deputy Chief Mark Rawlston, and District Attorney General Bill Cox. 2:00-2:15: Break 2:15-3:00: State Panel with Yusuf Hakeem from the Tennessee Probation and Parole Board, Bill Gregoricus from the Governor’s Office, and Helen Eigenberg, the Chair of the UTC Criminal Justice Department
John Hawbaker
Steffi Hitzel on Oct. 5, 2008
This idea might sound nutty at first but here goes. I have often thought that if it was compulsory for every Chattanooga and Hamilton county child to participate in instructions on manners, politeness, and conversational skills throughout their school career, our community would improve over time, including reduction in crime. I'm not talking about teaching uppity pretense. Some of our kids are so shy, backward and ill at ease when it comes to interacting with others. It seems to me that if you're taught how to behave politely around others and how to be considerate in just every day situations, you'll be less likely to be a thief or a brutal person. If you teach someone from a young age the give and take of a civilized conversation, how to listen, that you don't just talk about yourself, how to make others feel at ease and so on, then that kid is so much less likely to turn into a sociopath because they know something about empathy. It'd be easy and inexpensive to implement. I know ideally this training would come from home. Fact is, in too many families it doesn't.