2011 Uniform Crime Report (UCR)

This past week, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) released the Uniform Crime Report (UCR) for 2011.  Since the primary election in late June of this year, I am no longer a part of the campaign process but the safety and well-being of the public is important to me, as well as a desire to see honest information put forth for people to make informed decisions. 

On October 30, 2011 during the campaign, I published an article titled County Crime Statistics on this blog concerning the OSBI UCR report for 2010.  During the campaign, I cited the increase in crime was attributed (in my opinion) to decreased patrols which is a factor in detecting, deterring, preventing or apprehending criminal activity.  

One example, I mentioned several times related to inefficient patrol activity was, having Evening shift patrol personnel saddled with the service of civil processes instead of patrolling the county.  Another factor for the decreased patrols is: poor scheduling/staffing patterns including having two and at times one deputy patrolling the entire county.   

An additional factor was creating “programs”, while not addressing the core functions of the Sheriff’s Office.  One such program, the “School Security” program did nothing but reduce the time on patrol for these personnel while not serving as an adequate deterrent.  The program required patrol deputies to spend a significant amount of their shifts checking the six school locations TWICE during each school day.  In addition, some of the schools being addressed were within municipalities which have their own police departments to handle the “feel good” program.  Although the underlying theory of the program was good, going to the opposite extreme did nothing but create deficiencies.  Having day shift deputies checking schools and evening shift deputies serving civil processes ultimately reduced the amount of time devoted to patrol duties.  As a sidenote, in all fairness to the incumbent, with the Juvenile Center paying for six Deputies (for over a year now) to handle Truancy issues this has improved the particular situation although an entirely different set of issues could be discussed with this created program. 

Upon reviewing the UCR data released this past week, I believe the statistical information continues to support my opinion that the incumbent is not effectively addressing the crime issues of this county.  The incumbent has touted the creation of a number of programs but little has been developed to address the core functions of the Sheriff’s Office which is “protecting the peace and dignity of the county” which is evidenced by these increased crime statistics (as noted in the campaign, I do not support creation of programs for the sake of creating new programs often when they are unneeded or a duplication of current efforts).  On September 26th, the incumbent claimed in a print media article that crime in the county was not up, larcenies were up "minutely" and he indicated crime in the county was cyclical (not his word and to a point is true).  Again, the statistical information shown below bears out the falsehood of the incumbents claim.

I encourage you to reach you own conclusions and thoroughly research the incumbent and the remaining challenger, Joshua Moore which will be chosen during the General Election on November 6th. 

Crime Index

Below is the Crime Index for the Canadian County Sheriff's Office for 2000 thru 2011, as determined by information submitted to the OSBI. The Crime Index is the sum total of the 7 major offenses used to measure the extent, fluctuation and distribution of crime in a given area. Crime classifications used in the index are: (1) murder, (2) forcible rape, (3) robbery, (4) felonious assault, (5) breaking and entering, (6) larceny (theft), and (7) motor vehicle theft. Note-the incumbent took office in January of 2009, Sheriff Lewis Hawkins was in office during the 2000-2008 period. 

 

 

Crime per 1,000 population comparison

In the past, the incumbent has made the claim that crime has decreased statewide. The below graphic shows a comparison of crimes per 1,000 people for crime reported by the Sheriff's Office, the average for Canadian County and the average for the State of Oklahoma. Note-Incumbent took office in January of 2009, Sheriff Lewis Hawkins was in office in 2008 and prior.

  



 

 

Comparison with law enforcement agencies within Canadian County

Below is a comparison of crimes per 1,000 people reported by law enforcement agencies in Canadian County (Sheriff's Office, El Reno, Yukon, Mustang and Piedmont Police Department's) by the OSBI. Data for the Calumet Police Department was not available for three years so it is not shown. In addition, this comparison shows three full years (2009-2011) with the incumbent in office and data for the previous three years (2006-2008) under Sheriff Lewis Hawkins direction.

 

 

 

 

Index Crimes of the Sheriff's Office

Below is the Index Crimes for the Canadian County Sheriff's Office from 2001 to 2011. Murder, Rape and Arson were not included based on the limited fluctuations of these crimes and to improve comparison abilities.  Note-Incumbent came into office in January of 2009, from 2001-2008 Sheriff Lewis Hawkins was in office.

 



 



 

 

Raw OSBI UCR Data for Canadian County Sheriff's Office

Finally, the last graphic is the raw data from 2000 thru 2011 for the Canadian County Sheriff's Office.  Also included is county average and state average for crimes per 1,000 people.

 

 

I do intend to do my best to continue to stay out of the race but do feel knowledge is power. I plan to have one other post in the near future related to Concealed Handgun licenses which will be more informational than anything else.  For more information related to the UCR information or to review the data yourself, you can visit the following link for additional information: OSBI UCR Data