10.16.23 – KOCO
Data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation showed significant decreases in violent and property crime from 2021 to 2022. The Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office broke down the new numbers. While national trends show violent crime is down and property crime is up, Oklahoma has seen both of those numbers go down.
“We can attribute that to a number of different things. We’re doing a lot of different things as police agencies, in terms of community policing and involving the community more and more. I think that’s a big help,” Aaron Brilbeck with the sheriff’s office said.
The data showed that violent crime was down in Oklahoma County and across the state. In 2021, Oklahoma saw 15,689 violent crime incidents.
Compared to the prior year, the state’s numbers dropped by about 700 to 14,960. The pattern was the same with property crime.
“Anything from vandalism to burglaries. That kind of thing,” Brilbeck said.
To the sheriff’s office, those figures are good news. But they don’t plan to let up in any way when it comes to patrolling, investigating and enforcing crime.
“Now is the time to remain vigilant. It looks as though we’re kind of winning the war, but any time that can change. So, the key is remain vigilant. The key is keep doing what we’re doing. Just do it better,” Brilbeck said.