08/31/2010 03:00pm -- Many residents in Chattanooga may be shopping for burglar alarms, after an increase in robberies and burglaries has pushed the city to 11th in the Ochs Center for Metropolitan Studies' crime ranking - higher than cities that are traditionally known for high levels of crime such as Detroit and Atlanta.

The report said while the city had seen a significant decrease in violent crime over the past two years, there was also a substantial increase in the number of burglaries, property crimes and robberies.

The most striking figure was the increase in burglaries. Referring to figures from the FBI, the center said that burglaries had increased by nearly 20 percent in 2008, and then risen by an additional 5 percent in 2009 as the economy continued to struggle.

Among all major metropolitan areas, the Center said that St. Louis had the highest crime rate in the country, followed by Little Rock, Arkansas and Springfield, Missouri.

Police told WCRB-TV that they weren't sure about all of the study's figures. Although they acknowledged that the city had a "crime problem," they added that officials were moving in the right direction by increasing the number of police officers.