Experimental study of <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mmultiscripts> <mml:mi>Cr</mml:mi> <mml:mprescripts/> <mml:none/> <mml:mn>53</mml:mn> </mml:mmultiscripts> </mml:math> via the ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.o

Excited states in $^{53}$Cr were studied via the $^{52}$Cr$(d,pγ)$ reaction up to the neutron-separation threshold. Proton-$γ$ angular correlations and $γ$ decay branching ratios were measured in particle-$γ$ coincidences between the Super-Enge Split-Pole Spectrograph (SE-SPS) and CeBr$_3$ Array (CeBrA) demonstrator of the John D. Fox Accelerator Laboratory at Florida State University. Previous spin-parity assignments from a $(d,p)$ singles experiment at the SE-SPS are supported and $γ$-ray transitions in $^{53}$Cr reported. We firmly assign higher-lying excited states to $^{53}$Cr because overlapping excited states and contaminants could be identified better due to the complementary $γ$-decay information. We also correct some of the previously reported excitation energies and present a reanalysis of previously measured $^{52}$Cr$(d,p){}^{53}${Cr} angular distributions guided by the complementary $γ$-ray information. Based on this reanalysis, the fragmentation of the neutron $2p_{3/2}$, $2p_{1/2}$, $1f_{5/2}$, $1g_{9/2}$, and $2d_{5/2}$ single-particle strengths is reassessed for $^{53}$Cr. A comparison to the corresponding strengths in $^{55}$Fe is presented.