Crime by the numbers

Police and residents fight neighborhood offenses by learning from what goes on in their ZIP codes.

It's no secret that violent crime has plagued Scotty Mays' neighborhood.

But he says the good news is that it's getting better, thanks to some concerned residents and businesses.

Mays has lived near Independence Street and Peoria Avenue in the Crutchfield neighborhood for the last 14 years.

The neighborhood falls within the 74106 ZIP code, an area that recent police statistics show has had the most incidents of violent crime in the city.

Police and crime-victim advocates say reducing the amount of crime in an area starts with recognizing that a crime problem exists there. The next step is doing something about it.

Last year the city began an improvement project in Crutchfield. A spate of homicides in the area last year further motivated residents and businesses to take action.

''Just a couple years ago, this neighborhood was lousy. But the business owners got together with a lot of the neighbors who were tired of it and took an active role in making changes,'' Mays said.

''It does not start out with every person in the neighborhood. It starts out with a few and spreads.''

Crime by ZIP code

The Tulsa World analyzed crimes reported to police from Jan. 1, 2007, through March 31, 2008, and ranked Tulsa's ZIP codes by violent and nonviolent crimes.

The nonviolent crime category includes larceny, burglary and auto theft. The violent crime category includes homicide, rape, robbery and assault.

Tulsa Police Officer Jason Willingham noted that when crime rates are examined within certain boundaries, it is important to consider the density and type of businesses and residences there.

For example, the ZIP code with the highest number of nonviolent crimes was 74133 -- a large area that includes Woodland Hills Mall and the dense retail district along 71st Street near Memorial Drive and Mingo Road.

The ZIP code with the second-highest number of nonviolent crimes was 74135, which includes the Tulsa Promenade mall and is roughly bounded by 31st and 61st Streets from Harvard Avenue to Sheridan Road.

Crimes such as larceny, which includes shoplifting, and auto theft can be expected to be higher in those retail areas, Willingham said.

''It is not unusual for criminals to go to an area where they have the most opportunity to commit crimes,'' he said. ''That does not necessarily mean that is where they live.''

The 74106 ZIP code -- where Mays lives -- is roughly bounded by Admiral Boulevard to the south, 46th Street North to the north and Elwood and Lewis avenues to the west and east.

Willingham noted that many ZIP codes encompass a large area but the crime rate within that area does not represent the entire population.

''There may be a house on one street that has a lot of criminal activity, and that is going to reflect on that whole area" in such statistics, Willingham said.

''That doesn't mean that two streets over the people who live on that street don't call police, don't take care of each other and aren't good, law-abiding citizens,'' he said.

Mays said he became active through the Crime Commission with programs such as Alert Neighbors and Citizens Alert Patrol to make his neighborhood safer.

Now he trains residents in other neighborhoods about how they can do the same.

''I like helping people. I figure if there is any way of giving back to the community -- giving back to people -- this is the way,'' Mays said. ''I got involved, and I enjoy every minute of it.''

Population can also play a large role in a ZIP code's ranking. ZIP codes that are only partially inside the Tulsa city limits or are sparsely populated rank lowest in both violent and nonviolent crime, analysis shows.

But populations can also be transitory, and Tulsa's downtown is a good example. Downtown is split into more than one ZIP code. It has a low residential population, with about 1,500 residential units, according to Downtown Tulsa Unlimited.

But the daytime population is estimated to be about 34,000.

Nonetheless, police have said it is one of the safest areas in the city.

''When there is such a low number of people living in an area, but many people go there on a daily or nightly basis, the numbers are obviously going to be skewed,'' Willingham said.

Taking control of crime

The Crime Commission encourages Tulsans to seek out information about crime in their neighborhoods, said Executive Director Carol Bush.

''When we go out to neighborhood meetings, we tell people, 'The more knowledge you have -- the more you know -- the more power you have to make a change,' " she said.

Seeking out information about crime through Web sites and community resources is the first step to ridding neighborhoods of crime, Bush said.

''I think it sends a message to the bad guys, too," she said. "The bad guys don't like it when a neighborhood is active. We encourage people not to react out of fear but to react smartly and access this type of information.''

When Crime Commission volunteers go to neighborhood meetings, they always try to take a police officer who works that beat, Bush said.

''When you go into a neighborhood, they want to know what is happening in a two-, three-, four-block area around their home,'' she said.

When Bush met with Police Chief Ron Palmer in February, they talked about strengthening police ties with the community through the Crime Commission. She said Palmer designated shift captains as contacts for Crime Commission members and neighborhood watch groups.

''A volunteer can call the shift captain and say, 'We are having this neighborhood meeting tonight. Can you provide us what is going on in this area specifically?' That way they get more real-time information,'' Bush said.

Commission volunteers have also attended shift meetings at all three police patrol divisions.

''I am very happy with what is going on, because they (police) are getting more community-oriented," Bush said. "They are getting out there more, and they are getting more information to folks. I see a better working relationship.''

Analyzing geography is important

Tulsa Police Capt. Travis Yates said the analysis of crime geography is vitally important to the Police Department.

''Sheer numbers of crime don't tell us, as a law enforcement agency, very much," he said. "But where that crime is happening, who it is happening to and why it is happening helps us try to reduce crime overall, and to do that, we have to break it down into geographical districts.''

He said the analysis starts when officers go to a crime scene and take reports. From then on, the analysis happens at every level in the department, he said.

Many factors play into why some areas have higher crime rates than others, Yates said.

''Obviously, many things are driven by socioeconomic issues, but we can't stop there. We also have to take accountability as a law enforcement agency,'' he said.

When the department recognizes that an area has a high crime rate, it will deploy resources to address it, he said.

''Just as much as it is our job to fight crime, it is also our job to help citizens and businesses empower themselves to prevent crime,'' Yates said.

''I am very proud of the efforts that our officers do every day to do that. If they can prevent crime on the front end, they are going to create a lot less havoc on the back end as far as citizens being victims of crime.''

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

Curtis Killman 581-8471
curtis.killman@tulsaworld.com

BY THE NUMBERS

Correction
A list of the five Tulsa ZIP codes with the most incidents of violent crime should have listed the 74106 ZIP code as the highest, with 532 crimes.

Jan. 1, 2007, through March 31, 2008

The top five ZIP codes for violent crime in Tulsa. (Includes homicide, rape, robbery and assault):

ZIP code Crimes
74160 532
74115 442
74136 389
74110 334
74112 310

The top five ZIP codes for non-violent crime in Tulsa. (Includes larceny, burglary and auto theft):

ZIP code Crimes
74133 3,608
74135 2,153
74112 2,073
74136 1,949
74115 1,571

Source: Tulsa Police Department

To see what crimes have occurred in your neighborhood since Jan. 1, 2007, go to the new Tulsa World Crime Tracker. Search your ZIP code and zoom in to your street. The Crime Tracker will be updated monthly. www.tulsaworld.com/crimetracker

By NICOLE MARSHALL and CURTIS KILLMAN World Staff Writers

Copyright Tulsa World 2008. All rights reserved. Format differs from original publication.