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You remain anonymous and your information can make the difference in solving a crime.

See how you can help by starting an Alert Neighbors program in your area.

Whether it’s a suspicious man with stolen property in front of her house, a suspicious vehicle down the street or a home burglary in progress, Donna Lee knows what to do. She’s been trained.

Lee, 59, is a block captain in her Maxwell Neighborhood Association’s Alert Neighbors program and has watched crime in her neighborhood drop significantly during the past year as she and others in the neighborhood actively sought training and then trained others on how to spot suspicious activity and correctly report it to authorities.

They found the help they were looking for at the Crime Commission, a Tulsa organization that has educated and raised awareness about crime for more than 30 years.

Executive Director Carol Bush said calls to the Crime Commission have gone up by 50 percent since police layoffs as concerned residents look for help starting an Alert Neighbors program in their neighborhood.

“We’ve had a tremendous increase in requests,” Bush said. “Crime is hitting all four areas of town. There are no boundaries.”

Alert Neighbors is a program that teaches residents to keep an eye on criminal activity in their neighborhood and gives those residents a guide on how to work together to reduce crime in general.

“Bad guys don’t like to be watched,” Bush said.

Constant ebb and flow

Through the Alert Neighbors program, Bush said, active groups have seen a high rate of success at reducing crime in their areas, but group activity goes up and down as crime goes up and down in a neighborhood.

“If a group lets their guard down, crime will go up and Alert Neighbors becomes important again,” she said. “There’s a constant ebb and flow with Alert Neighbors.”

Lee, who helped start the Alert Neighbors program in her neighborhood near Yale Avenue and Pine Street about a year ago, said crime has dramatically decreased and her neighbors have become more active as they see the program has helped.

Using the Tulsa World’s Crime Tracker database to compare all police reports in the Maxwell neighborhood before Alert Neighbors began there to the same month a year later, records show 45 crime reports were made in the neighborhood in December 2008.

In December 2009, there were 31 total crime reports in the neighborhood, which extends from Admiral Boulevard north to Pine Street and from Yale Avenue to Sheridan Avenue, showing a decrease in crime of more than 30 percent in those two months.

Getting started

Bush said there are about 750 active Alert Neighbors programs in Tulsa and some have more success than others.

When a group calls the Crime Commission at 585-5209 to start an Alert Neighbors program, the organization sends them a packet of information on the program and then schedules a “first meeting” with the group to educate the members on how to help burglar-proof their homes, deter would-be robbers from finding easy targets and effectively assist police in the event of a crime, Bush said.

Alert Neighbors also encourages groups to create phone and e-mail lists for neighbors and to establish block captains, who can go through special training and be a central contact for others in the neighborhood.

The Crime Commission said they send out about 450 information packets about Alert Neighbors every year, and most groups take the next step to have a first meeting, Bush said.

“We get huge attention when something bad is going on,” she said.

Filling in the gaps

Despite numerous active neighborhood groups that have participated in the Alert Neighbors program, Bush said there are gaps in Tulsa where criminals have embedded themselves.

In some neighborhoods, people are even too scared to begin a neighborhood watch program for fear they would be targeted, she said.

“They’re afraid,” Bush said. “That’s why they don’t want to bring attention to themselves.”

Also, some Alert Neighbors programs just don’t take off because of a lack of participation, she said.

“The neighborhoods that are most successful are where 10 or more people are involved,” Bush said.

“Bad guys just don’t like to be watched.”

Rip Stell/Tulsa World

Tulsa families joined in with the high-speed professional cyclists Sunday for a ride through Tulsa and some children earned a brand new Tulsa Tough bike upon completing the course.

The Tulsa Tough Townie Ride opened up Tulsa Tough to everyone with an eight-mile ride Sunday afternoon, beginning and ending at about 15th Street and Riverside Drive.

Mark Riddle and his two sons, 12-year-old Zach Riddle and 9-year-old Jaden Riddle, rode together and were excited, despite the hot weather and recent injuries.

Zach had a bandage on his left knee from a recent accident, he said.

“My wheel got caught between the sidewalk and the grass and I fell off,” he said.

His father said Zach wouldn’t let a fall keep him from the ride.

“He’s coming back from a knee injury,” he said. “He’s Tulsa tough.”

Jaden was on a sparkling new bike his father just bought for him.

“This is his (Jaden’s) first time riding a long way on a bike with more than one speed,” said Mark Riddle. “So he’s excited.”

About 700 people rode, including 70 children who earned their Tough Kid Challenge bike, said Tonja Pitzer, River Parks Authority public relations and events manager.

Paul Thomas, Tulsa Area Community Schools Initiative coordinator with the Community Service Council, said he was riding with 13 children who completed the Tulsa Tough Challenge this year through a partner program at Kendall-Whittier Elementary School. “Everyone of them finished,” he said. “They were all excited and proud of themselves.”

The children rode their Trek bikes, provided by Children’s Hospital at St. Francis, according to the Tulsa Tough official website.

To complete the challenge, children in third, fourth or fifth grade must attend a Safe Escape class conducted by the Crime Commission, complete a take-home worksheet on bike safety, attend a skills and drills class on bicycle handling and participate in the Tulsa Townie ride.

Thomas said the Kendall-Whittier program is part of a new partnership with Tulsa Tough that allows kids to earn their bike in an after-school program that teaches them delayed gratification and how to reach goals.

About seven parents of children in the Kendall-Whittier program joined in on the Townie Ride to support their children, he said.

All Tulsa Townie riders received a ride-finisher’s medal at the end of the ride, and Tough Kids Challenge riders got their official certificate of ownership for their bicycles.

The neighborhood, which is south of 81st Street and east of Harvard Avenue, is home to the Crime Commission’s newest Citizens Alert Patrol in Tulsa.

“It is a good program. We are starting it because last summer we had a lot of teenage vandalism-type problems,” said Gary Williamson, who heads the patrols in Forrest Creek. “We wanted to get it under way so that when school is out, we will already have the patrols going.”

The patrol program, launched here in 1996, trains neighborhood residents to “observe, record and report” suspicious behavior and call the police.

In the past year, the Crime Commission has added 15 neighborhoods to its citizens patrol program, said Executive Director Carol Bush. She said many neighborhoods likely started patrols in response to police layoffs this year.

“Neighborhoods are becoming proactive. They know they need to become the eyes and ears for the police, which is good,” Bush said.

Eight residents have been trained to patrol in Forrest Creek.

The participants were trained on what to look for and received magnetic Citizens Alert Patrol signs for their cars and flashlights.

Most importantly, the patrollers are taught to call the police rather than confront criminals if they see a crime in progress. Often, they help prevent crime by calling their neighbors if they forget to close their garage doors at night.

“As much as anything, it is to deter bad things from happening,” Williamson said.

Sgt. Brandon Watkins said burglaries and larcenies are among the crimes that increase in the summer.

“The weather is nice; kids are out of school. When they really don’t have anything to do, a lot of times, they will take up burglary as a pastime,” Watkins said.

Detectives are tracking a set of thieves they believe have been breaking into homes and stealing electronics. Those same thieves broke into the house next door to Mayor Dewey Bartlett’s and were standing at his front door in the 1200 block of East 30th Place on April 30 when a neighbor spotted them, and they ran away.

Investigators think the same burglars, who have been seen in a white Honda Prelude with a spoiler, have broken into about six homes in recent weeks.

Police said Bartlett’s case is an example of how alert neighbors can help prevent break-ins.

It’s a message Bush tries to spread every chance she gets, including last week at a Heller Park neighborhood meeting attended by more than 100 people.

“We started out reminding them that this is the time of year that we see an increase in burglaries,” Bush said. “Sure enough, right and left, people were telling stories about burglaries that happened to them.”

During the summer, people often forget to shut their garage doors, and burglars take advantage of the opportunity, she said.

Bush said that during neighborhood meetings she often hears people say, “I saw a suspicious vehicle, and I wish that I had called it in.”

“People talk themselves out of calling police,” Bush said. “The police are constantly saying that we canvassed the area after someone has been a victim of crime and nine or 10 people saw something suspicious and did not call it in.

“We hear the same thing over and over again. You gotta call because if it smells like a fish, it is probably a fish.”

She also hears people say they don’t report suspicious behavior because it takes police too long to respond. But Bush said she hears just as many people tell stories about police responding quickly to their calls.

“You never know what is going on in the city at the time that might be a higher priority. Even though it is frustrating sometimes, you still have to call. That is the system that we have.”

For more

For more information about the Crime Commission and about forming a Citizens Alert Patrol in your neighborhood, call the Crime Commission at 585-5209.

tulsaworld.com/crimecommission

Ways to avoid summer burglaries

• Trim shrubs and trees so burglars can’t lurk outside your home.
• Keep your garage door closed and locked.
• Lock your garden sheds.
• Arrange for your lawn to be mowed if you are going away for an extended time.
• Never leave keys under doormats, flowerpots, mailboxes or other “secret” hiding places — burglars know where to look for hidden keys.
• If you notice anything suspicious in your neighborhood, call 911 immediately.

Copyright © 2010, World Publishing Co. All rights reserved

Outstanding Citizen Crime Prevention Award

An award will be presented to a volunteer or to a citizen whose dedication and enthusiasm for crime prevention has provided a positive impact on the quality of life for others.  The recipient of this award cannot be an employee, sworn or non-sworn, of a law enforcement agency.

Category I: Over 100,000 Population       Category II: Under 100,000 Population

Outstanding Media Partner Award

To annually recognize the significant contribution to crime prevention made by a specific media organization.

Category I: Television       Category II: Print        Category III:  Radio

Outstanding Crime Fighting Business Award

An award will be presented to the business that has made the greatest impact or provided the greatest support toward the crime prevention effort in their community.

Category I: Over 100,000 Population        Category II: Under 100,000 Population

Outstanding Community Crime Prevention Award

To annually recognize the outstanding NON-POLICE community based crime prevention program-project (service clubs, PTA, schools, non-profits, coalitions, etc.) which enhanced crime prevention initiatives at the local, state-province, or national level.

Category I: Over 100,000 Population       Category II: Under 100,000 Population

Outstanding Unit of the Year

To annually recognize the outstanding crime prevention units which have made the most significant contributions to the crime prevention profession. This category includes all police initiated programs-projects.

Category I: Over 100,000 Population       Category II: Under 100,000 Population

The Crime Commission annually recognizes crime prevention specialists and activities in several categories throughout Northeast Oklahoma.  This year the awards ceremony will be in conjunction with Badges and Bars which will be held on September 17, 2010 and the Tulsa Air and Space Museum.  This is an opportunity for the Crime Commission to publicly and officially recognize individuals, agencies, organizations and businesses who are dedicated to making their community as safer place to live, work and play.  Please participate by nominating outstanding work in the fore mentioned categories.

Nomination Criteria:

• Nominations are for activities during the period of July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010.
• Entries must be summarized on the official nomination form provided.
• The form may be locally reproduced.
• Each nomination must be complete for consideration.
• Outstanding award recipients from the previous year cannot be nominated in the same category but may be nominated in a different category.
• Nominees will receive notification of their status as nominees.
• All nominations must be postmarked by July 1, 2010.  No material may be submitted after this date.  All material submitted will become the property of the Crime Commission and will not be returned.
• Nomination must be sent to:

cbush@crimecomok.org or by mail to

Crime Commission

2121 S. Columbia, LL8

Tulsa, OK 74114

Fax: 918-585-1015

The survey, announced in early October, asked for opinions on the department’s performance and potential improvements and on how safe people feel in various areas of the city.

In general, Tulsans have a positive view of the Police Department, the survey suggests. About 69 percent of respondents said officers are well-trained, and 70 percent said they are well-educated.

However, the majority of respondents — 65 percent — feel less safe in Tulsa than they did five years ago.

Don’l Butler of Owasso, who was shopping at a Tulsa mall on Monday, said the home of a Tulsa friend was broken into recently and that she no longer feels as secure when she visits the city. Butler, who is 63 and walks with a cane, said she sometimes feels like a target for criminals.

“I used to feel safe, but I’m not sure I do anymore,” she said. “I’m a prime target.”

Butler, who visits Tulsa about three times a month, said the recent police cuts are a step in the wrong direction. Bringing back all the laid-off officers would help improve the city’s crime rate, she said.

“I know it’s hard for (officers) now since they got cut. There’s no way they can reach everything,” she said.

Fewer than half of the respondents said they felt safe in many parts of Tulsa, particularly at night.

Only 38 percent said they felt secure in the River Parks area, and 45 percent felt safe downtown. North Tulsa was seen as the most dang

erous area; just 12 percent of respondents said they felt safe there.

Gang violence and violent crime topped the list of crimes that concern respondents. Prostitution and shoplifting were seen as the least-pressing problems.

Slightly more than half were satisfied with police response times.

Officer Jason Willingham, a department spokesman, said the survey helps the department focus on areas where it could improve.

“We have areas we need to work on, just like in any profession,” he said. “It also shows that people are generally happy with what we do and how we act.”

Police see their main area for improvement to be increasing the public’s perception of safety in the city.

“There are several things that have to be taken into consideration that can affect perception,” Willingham said.

Increased news coverage in response to public interest in crime and safety could contribute to the perception that crime in the city is worse than it is, he said.

“Crime has not changed that much in the last five years,” he said.

The Police Department’s Web site shows that 27,515 Part One crimes were reported last year, down from the 32,107 reported in 2004. Part One crimes include homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, auto theft, burglary and larceny.

Reported crimes are compiled by the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports system, a national clearinghouse for crime statistics.

Capt. Jonathan Brooks said perception could also be affected by spikes in violent-crime categories such as robbery and homicide, even though those affect a relatively smaller number of people. For example, Tulsa had a record number of homicides, 70, last year.

“If the killings are up, people often believe that all crime is up,” Brooks said.

Carol Bush, the executive director of the Crime Commission — an organization of residents who support and work with police — said the survey was consistent with some of the feedback she hears at community meetings.

Bush said she was not surprised to see that gang violence was a top concern for the public, but she was surprised to see that only 10 percent of the respondents ranked burglary as a main issue.

“I go to meetings all over town, and at every meeting I hear horror stories about people being burglarized,” she said.

She also receives feedback on police officers and their contacts with the public.

“When I go to neighborhood meetings, I hear a lot of empathy with what is going on with the Police Department and the city and all of the politics,” Bush said. “I hear the same thing over and over again: The officers we have are great, but they are overworked.”

About the survey

In accordance with Commission on accreditation for Law enforcement agencies standards, the Tulsa Police Department surveyed Tulsa residents about the department.

It collected 1,71 surveys from nonrandomly selected respondents in five months. Methods of disseminating information about the survey and soliciting responses included notices posted at the Tulsa County Courthouse and at major area churches, inserts in utility bills and advertisements in local media.

Sixty-five responses were collected by mail, 201 in person and 1,447 online.

Source: Tulsa Police Department

Nicole Marshall 581-8459
nicole.marshall@tulsaworld.com