By John Dobberstein, Editor
With the city continuing to grow every year and some residents concerned about a potential increase in crime, the Broken Arrow Police Department is working to rejuvenate a neighborhood crime prevention program.
The key to preventing crime is for neighbors to be alert and aware of what’s happening around them, talk to each other and report what they see to police, says Karen Gilbert, director of Tulsa Crime Stoppers, which administers the Alert Neighbor program in the metro area.
The BAPD recently held a citywide meeting about the Alert Neighbor program to increase interest in the program and encourage neighborhoods to form block captains and discuss registering as active Alert Neighborhoods.
The Alert Neighborhood program provides a framework for residents interested in forming neighborhood watch group to ramp up crime prevention efforts.
Although social media has become a powerful communication tool, it has also taken away personal interaction among neighbors that are key to neighborhood awareness. “What you see happening in your neighborhood might not be something law enforcement knows. And the way they know about it is if crime is reported,” Gilbert says.
“If someone gets their car broken into and they’ve got to get to work and can’t wait for police to come out and take a report, you might just move on,” Gilbert says. “But when you report it and if there’s a spike in crime in a particular neighborhood, it’s cue for police to patrol that neighborhood a little more often. And you might be able to catch some suspects.”
Broken Arrow police reached out to Crime Stoppers to restart the program, as no neighborhoods in the city had an active Alert Neighbor program since 2017.
“The program encourages residents to interact with each other to boost community spirit and overall natural surveillance,” said BAPD Public Information Coordinator Ethan Hutchins. “By interacting with your neighbors, it can lead to better communication and informational sharing, which creates a safer neighborhood.”
If residents decide to form a watch program, Gilbert asks that they contact Tulsa Crime Stoppers and alert Gilbert so she can monitor and offer support, answer questions and coordinate with Broken Arrow police to help educate residents about crime prevention efforts.
Through Alert Neighbors, watch members will learn about terminology to use about reporting crimes and how to be a good witness and provide proper detail to dispatchers or police. Gilbert says it’s important for neighbors to share information about which houses have surveillance cameras and to share contact information.
Neighbors that become familiar with typical activities in the neighborhood can better identify when something seems suspicious, she says. When residents call dispatch and provide detailed information on suspicious activity, it can be relayed to police, who can use it as probable cause to stop a person or vehicle for a conversation about their intentions.
“There are lots of variables there. What it boils down to is making sure you know your neighbor,” Gilbert says.
For residents who want to start an Alert Neighborhood program, Curtis suggests they try to start with at least a couple of blocks. A block captain and coordinator will need to be assigned and contact information gathered for those willing to provide it.
Gilbert says block captains can distribute information in the neighborhood and she suggested using a private Facebook page so only residents of that area are participating.
“We want to make sure that we prevent you from being a victim of crime. So just having a program and talking to each other and making sure everyone knows what’s going on in the neighborhood is what it’s all about,” she says.
It’s also possible to buy Alert Neighbor signs to post in the neighborhood, which will let others know there is an active program in place. But Gilbert says that alone may not be enough to deter criminals.
“A sign isn’t going to keep anybody out. What will keep someone from coming in is you all being active and talking to each other and reporting the crime to the police department,” she says.
“Reminder each other to lock your cars and take belongings out of your car — especially weapons. Turn your porch light on. Make sure your house is well lit.”
She suggests residents make sure they don’t have brush covering their windows, which could provide a suspect a place to hide. Knowing a neighbor’s contact information allows them to warn residents they left their garage door open.
Broken Arrow Police Chief Brandon Berryhill said officers are willing to come out and speak to neighborhood groups, share crime statistics and dispatch calls from their area. “A lot of times things are circulating on Facebook, and if you don’t tell us (about a crime) we may not be in your neighborhood, because we go by calls for service and what we know,” Berryhill says.
Following the meeting, Hutchins said, “it is now incumbent on the citizens to reach out to Crime Stoppers and establish an active program.
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