Broken Arrow Police Saw Increase In Crime In 2021

Broken Arrow Police say there has been an increase in crime this year, including more homicide investigations than usual. The department says this is common as more people move to the area, and the city is still one of the safest in the country.

Broken Arrow Police say typically detectives investigate two homicides a year -- but for 2021 that number is up to 5 with the last happening back in November.

Office Chris Walker said typically detectives investigate two homicides a year, but for 2021 that number is up to 5. The first homicide investigation happened in mid-January and others followed in May, September and November.

Walker says there has also been an uptick in car burglaries and thefts in the last year. A contributing factor to this issue is cars being left unlocked, according to the department's data from 2019.

Police are seeing a decrease in wrecks and people driving too fast. Officer Walker contributes this to the department's traffic unit.

Broken Arrow Police says there are easy things people can do to prevent some crimes.

"One of our phrases is 'remove it, lock it, report it,'" said Officer Walker. "Remove any property from your cars, make sure they're locked up at night and report any crimes that are happening."

Walker says Broken Arrow officers are big on community engagement, so they will often be found out and about working to build relationships with people who live in town.