LAWTON, Okla_If you think
that homicides in Lawton
are on the increase, you're right. With two homicides over the weekend, there
have now been a total of 10 already this year, which matches last year's total,
with three months still to go. It's the first time Lawton has experienced double-digit homicides
in back-to-back years in a very long time.
Lawton has a
reputation for crime and it's not a good one. But the truth about Lawton's crime statistics is that there are fewer murders
per person in Lawton, than you'll find in Tulsa or Oklahoma
City. There have been more homicides lately, but you
have to go back to 1978 and 1979 to find 10 or more homicides, two years in a
row. Still, those words are less than comforting for concerned Lawton residents.
The question
everybody wants to know the answer to, why have there been so many murders in Lawton?
"That's a
good question, that's what we've been asking ourselves. The last year or so
there have been a lot more calls on shots fired and more shootings that have
occurred," Captain Craig Akard said.
There were two
homicides last weekend, 10 so far in the first 9 months of 2012, that's enough
to cause concern for Lawton
residents. But the fact that you don't know where or when these violent crimes
will occur is even more unsettling.
"I think
that's what concerns people the most is just because you're supposed to be
living in a nice comfortable safe neighborhood doesn't mean something may not
happen there."
Captain Akard
has been on the Lawton Police Department for almost 30 years, in that time
people have changed, he said today they are less likely to work things out
without resorting to violence.
"People just
want to solve their problems with guns instead of talking about it, trying to
straighten it out. It's a different mindset today."
The numbers
don't lie, more homicides the last two years, and with two over the weekend, Lawton
residents are on edge, wondering if this is a trend that will last or something
that will soon pass.
"We've
always had crimes that have occurred but it seems like now especially these
homicides and these last few shootings, they've all come at one time."
So what's the answer? We'll go straight to the man responsible for
reigning in Lawton
crime. Tuesday we'll be talking with new Lawton Police Chief James Smith, he's
been on the job for less than 30 days. We will find out what he plans to do as
the city's chief law enforcement officer Tuesday night at 6, on 7News.
