Tulsa Police Hold Public Safety Seminar In Wake Of Sexual Assaults

Tulsans are learning how to protect themselves against crime.

With a rash a sexual assaults across the city, many women are on edge, especially since the man responsible for the eight attacks is still on the run.

A safety seminar on Wednesday was very well attended and police were pleased, but now they want Tulsans to be proactive when it comes to safety.

That means knowing what to look for and when to call police.

"I live by myself and have been concerned about what's going on lately, so I wanted to make sure I was prepared and aware," Rebecca said.

6/29/2014 Related Story: Tulsa Police: Woman In Her 60s Sexually Assaulted In 8th Attack

The message from Tulsa police is that everyone needs to be on notice. Homeowners, business owners and politicians came to the workshop to learn how to be safer.

"People were like, ‘Are you going to talk about the serial rapist?'" TPD Officer Demita Kinnard said. "That wasn't our focus because that wasn't our focus when we started this -- but community safety is."

Whether police are looking for the man responsible for a series of sexual assaults or a carjacker, authorities say the way to prevent crime and catch criminals is to be vigilant.

TPD says if you are victimized in any way, you must stop, think and connect.

Don't just look at a criminal's race but find distinguishing marks or tattoos. Notice the time of day and where things happen.

Officers say public participation is critical to their success.

"Everybody says they want to be involved, but they are either scared or don't want to do it," Mike Lowry of Signall 88 Security said.

Kinnard said: "That is just the nature of the beast. We get complacent so if nothing else happens. for another year people will go back to their regular routines."

The goal now, is to make safety routine. Rebecca says after getting pointers from police, she will change her daily routine.

"I guess while driving, being aware of everything that is around me because a lot of times if you have your phone going off or you are GPS'-ing, you don't [see] the gentleman walking up next to you," she said. "So just always being aware I guess."