TULSA, Okla. — After more and more violent crime, there is a revitalized effort to clean-up the area known as “Hope Valley,” or 61st and Peoria in south Tulsa.
Meiko Brown has lived in the area for a few years.
She said, “Most of us are not on Section 8. We are not on welfare. We pay for everything we have here.”
However, with one look, you can see others have trashed the area.
High grass, junked out cars, garbage, several old, neglected building and debris are just some of the problems you see when you drive around.
The City of Tulsa Working in Neighborhoods Department has been a vital part of the new clean-up effort, which is also a collaboration between Crime Stoppers, police and stakeholders in the area like apartment managers, even school leaders.
Inspector Devin Lucas surveyed every property from 51st to 71st, from Riverside to Utica looking for any violations in the City of Tulsa’s ordinances.
Lucas said he found:
- 238 nuisance cases like tall grass, trash, or unsecured buildings
- 14 properties that needed maintenance like homes that didn’t have utilities or had unsecured structures
- 84 zoning cases like cars that were parked on grass or homes that had illegal fencing
He said all 336 cases were resolved through either voluntary compliance, citation, or a work order, in which the city fixed the problem and billed the owner.
Crime Stoppers Executive Director Karen Gilbert told FOX23 that this is not a quick fix.
Gilbert says it’s the reason she has pulled so many different organizations together.
Gilbert has put together weekly community policing efforts, like officers walking around to meet and talk with people. Another part of the collaboration is providing funding to outreach programs in that part of town. She is also organizing neighborhood town hall meetings.
To further look at the issue, FOX23 requested crime data from the Tulsa Police Department.
Since 2019, in only one-square mile around 61st and Peoria, police are reporting more than 450 violent crimes.
- 63 robberies
- 17 homicides
- 34 rapes
- 353 assaults
FOX23 Evening Anchor Sara Whaley sat down with Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin to get his thoughts.
“It’s really going to take all hands on deck to create sustainable change,” Chief Franklin said. “The one thing that I have come up with that has not been tried yet is using technology. That is why I’m really pushing hard to use 61st and Peoria as a test bed for technology we are trying to deploy across our city.”
That includes the Flock Safety Cameras FOX23 has told you about.
Several just went up on a trial basis.
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Brown says she is on board for anything that will help.
“I don’t pay rent for my kid to see and think that this is normal,” she said. “This should not be normal.”
To learn more about the flock cameras, you can check out their website.
FOX23 also previously reported on Tulsa Police’s stance on the Flock Safety Cameras as well.
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