Residents, City Leaders Talk Crime In Midtown Tulsa

Tulsa residents want to take a tough stance on crime. Monday, the Crime Commission and several city leaders met in midtown Tulsa with residents about crime, how to report it and how to be an alert neighbor.

The Midtown Tulsa Alert Neighbors program stretches from 21st to 51st and Peoria to Yale. The group has become very active after several crimes.

Midtown Tulsa residents want advice to make the Alert Neighbors program even better.

"It helps people understand how serious we are and how serious the issues are and it's making people more alert," said Kathryn Lyons, Alert Neighbors Captain.

The biggest concerns they're taking to Tulsa Police and city councilors are door-to-door sales scams, car burglaries and home break-ins.

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"Just the last week, we've been starting with some more kicking in of the doors, so I'm wondering if that trend is starting to happen again," Lyons said.

They want more officers on their streets and hounded the police chief about what he was going to do to prevent crime.

Chief Chuck Jordan says he's reinstated the beat program that assigns officers to specific areas and that Tulsa's violent crime has dropped 13 percent over the past year. He says help from the community is invaluable.

"I point to this group saying, ‘this is the way it should be done. This is the way it is going to effectively fight crime in our community,'" Chief Jones said.

The Crime Commission oversees the Alert Neighbors program. Carol Bush, the executive director, says reporting suspicious people and vehicles to police and sharing that information with neighbors is the key to cutting crime.

"The more these people can communicate and get involved and engaged and really watch out for each other and make those reports, the better it's going to be," Bush said.

The Crime Commission says crime in midtown has dropped since the Alert Neighbors program started last January.

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