If you expect to see flat territory with huge, peaceful tracts of land and small welcoming towns, then Oklahoma is what you are looking for. However, many cities within the state are huge and small, but the safety can be different depending on the place. As much as anyone else who is planning to relocate to Oklahoma, the best city to live in should have taken adequate measures on the degree of crime and safety in the city. Fortunately, several cities within the state of Oklahoma continue to promote community policing, emergency response, and other crime prevention initiatives. Thus, these cities are among the safest in the state.
Yukon
Yukon, a city positioned just to the west of Oklahoma City, reigns supreme as Oklahoma’s safest choice. Strong neighborhood watch programs and personal and property protection; frequent community meetings with local police; efficient flood and tornado alerts; and one of the lowest violent crime rates in the state make Yukon residents feel safe. Murders, rapes, robberies, or aggravated assaults are rare incidents in the city while cases of burglary, theft, and other property crimes are limited too. Organized Yukon spends a lot of money in its police departments and other related departments to ensure they have adequate equipment and training to avoid crime incidences and in the event of one, they have adequate personnel to handle the situation. The city also has cameras mounted on walls and police vehicles to curb incidences of crime in different parts of the community.
Bartlesville
Bartlesville, which is located 40 miles north of Tulsa, is for several times regarded as one of the safest communities to reside in Oklahoma State. Its violent crime rate is notably below the state average due to few annual incidents of murder, rape, robbery, or assault. Violent crime sits at 0.3 per 1,000 people and is considerably less than other cities of a similar size in Oklahoma in terms of property crime. Many factors have made Bartlesville safe; these include a very active Neighborhood Watch program that involves residents including the block captains and those who report any suspicious activities. The Bartlesville Police Department also communicates with citizens regularly, including participation in monthly town meetings that help develop and sustain rapport between the police force and the people of Bartlesville. In addition, their focused community policing approach involves officers patrolling assigned beats which are specific areas within a town, and working with people.
Mustang
A few miles from the city to the west, Mustang is an up-and-coming community. But even today with the arrival of new residents and businesses, it has an unprecedented low level of violent and property crime. In the same year, Mustang reported less than 20 violent crimes on average per year, which is relatively lower compared to the other cities within Oklahoma of similar populations. By implementing forward-looking policing methods that target the communities rather than simply waiting for something to happen, most of the mishaps that are witnessed are mainly property-related crimes such as theft and graffiti. It also incorporates an enhanced intelligent comprehensive camera system that includes more than 50 live monitoring police patrol cameras to enhance police visibility and quick response in the city. Combined with local watch organizations and alert programs, Mustang adopts a multipronged strategy that focuses on safety.
Ponca City
When it comes to public safety, Ponca City situated in the Kay County of northern Oklahoma is not behind at all. Property and violent crime statistics indicate that this city experiences fewer numbers of incidents per year compared to the state average. Ponca City employs the setting of a special committee, the Citizens Advisory Board, which has a direct line to the police leadership at a face-to-face meeting at least once a month for discussing safety issues and new measures toward crime fighting. The other crime-fighting tool used by Ponca City is the CompStat mapping which aids police in monitoring crime statistics to determine where to patrol. Such proactive approaches coupled with community involvement help to ensure that Ponca City maintains low rates of crime, but if they occur, the city is prepared to act quickly. The subject matter of safety offered by these structures brings a lot of comfort to the residents.
Piedmont
Although it is one of the smallest cities in Oklahoma with a population of residents of slightly over 7,000 individuals, Piedmont stands out as having very low crime rates. Piedmont is a city near the northwest metro area of Oklahoma City, which is referenced as one of the 20 safest cities in the state of Oklahoma. The conformity reveals that in the last decade, Piedmont on average recorded less than 10 violent crimes per year, which encompass, homicides, rape, robberies, and aggravated assault. The rates of property crimes are also much lower compared to other cities in Oklahoma, and this is due to the active involvement of neighborhood patrol groups and patrols from the local police force within this closely-knit region. It also has video surveillance cameras in the parks and other recreational places within the Piedmont region eliminating any possible attacker. People expressed satisfaction with the local police services, especially concerning the short response time to calls to 911 emergency services and the integration of the police into the community by holding regular meetings.
In choosing the city in Oklahoma where to live, protecting the members of your family should always be your topmost concern. Fortunately, cities across the state are moving to the next level towards preventing criminal activity and improving emergency services thus transforming the above-mentioned communities into some of the safest to live in. Whether building community coalitions to fight crime, incorporating emerging technologies such as surveillance cameras, engaging in what has been termed direct policing with the public, or utilizing crime data to prioritize resources, Oklahoma cities are on the cutting edge of proactive public safety approaches.
