Lawton Police Chief: Crime down overall, larceny increasing

LAWTON, Okla. (KSWO) - Crime rates are up. That’s what Lawton’s Police Chief claimed at Tuesday afternoon’s city council meeting.

LPD Chief James Smith said the bottom line is crime is up a little bit, and he just wanted to explain why.

This statement confused Mayor Stan Booker, who told 7News the night before that crime rates were down.

“I used this last night on TV and said crime is down and then you come and tell us crime is up,” Booker said, “so I’m a little confused because your numbers also end at the same time that this report right here ends. So I’m a little bit confused and a little bit embarrassed about what I’ve said publicly.”

Booker said this on 7News the night before when asked if there was an uptick in crime.

“Actually, just the opposite,” Booker said. “We’re down double digits as a percentage in every category but one.”

It appeared the mayor and Smith weren’t on the same page.

Smith presented two different crime reports -- one from LPD -- the other from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.

“Those numbers are going to be a little different, but overall crime is down,” Smith said.

LPD’s report compares the last two years. In each of the categories, ranging from murder to burglary, there’s a notable decrease in the rate.

The report shows robbery is down by 51 percent.

However, larceny is the only crime that saw an increase. It skyrocketed by 92 percent.

“Thefts of copper out of the air conditionings,” Smith said. “The catalytic converters. So in some areas, crime is up.”

After the explanation, Booker called LPD’s report impressive and asked what the department is doing to curb theft.

Smith said they’re encouraging property owners to better secure items.

“We also are doing saturated patrols in those areas where there’s been some theft,” Smith said.

OSBI’s report shows there were nearly 1800 Crimes Against Persons committed last year.

The data includes homicides, forcible and non-forcible sex offenses, assault and human trafficking.

Smith said the good news is so far this year, his detectives have solved 14 out of 15 homicides.

“Our uniform, our patrol, our homicide detectives and CSI people have all got together and worked very diligently in solving those crimes,” Smith said.

7News asked to interview the police chief after his presentation for clarification on the reports. He declined.

Mayor Booker declined to interview on the subject, saying he didn’t feel comfortable doing another interview without more information.

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