Monthly Reports from the County Mayor’s Office Will Include Overdose, Crime, and Homeless Data

Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp today announced the creation of “Hamilton Counted,” a monthly report of county-wide overdose, crime, and homeless data. Led by longtime Chattanooga Police Department analyst, Jennifer Baggett, who is set to join the county as a Senior Data Analyst, the data-focused initiative will aggregate the most recent and comprehensive data to provide citizens an unprecedented look into local challenges.

“Across the county’s ten municipalities and the ever-growing unincorporated areas, it’s important we have an accurate understanding of the problems we face across our community,” Mayor Wamp said. “Jennifer is widely respected among local law enforcement and our office looks forward to working alongside her to foster transparency about complex issues affecting Hamilton County. We believe this report will be a valuable tool to citizens and journalists alike, and will grow to include data on more subjects.”

Baggett spent eight years with the Chattanooga Police Department as a crime analyst, focusing the last four collecting, studying, and analyzing overdose data as their Intelligence Analyst for the Organized Crime Unit.

“I have watched the numbers increase drastically from year-to-year, while the popularity of heroin faded and the rise of fentanyl changed everything. I worked closely with narcotics investigators to provide intelligence-led data that propelled their investigations. I realized very quickly how drugs and addiction do not discriminate,” Baggett said. “I look forward to joining Hamilton County government as their Senior Data Analyst, focusing on understanding the social harms affecting citizens of this wonderful community, and how to make that data actionable in an impactful way.”

The “Hamilton Counted” report will be released publicly on a monthly basis, two weeks after the end of each month, with the first report to be released in mid-July.