Michael Bates
for City Council
Tulsa District 4

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Michael Bates on crime:

In 1982, James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling wrote a landmark article for the Atlantic Monthly, called "Broken Windows: The Police and Neighborhood Safety."  The title is based on an observation that when a broken window in a building goes unrepaired, soon all the windows in the building will be broken. "One unrepaired broken window is a signal that no one cares, and so breaking more windows costs nothing."

The gist of their article is this: When a city tolerates public disorder in a neighborhood -- public drunkenness, graffiti, panhandling, loitering, abandoned cars, overgrown lots, code violations -- decent folks begin to withdraw from the public realm, leaving the streets free for the indecent -- prostitutes, drug dealers, gangs, and ultimately more serious and violent crimes. Those who can move out of the neighborhood, usually leaving the poor and elderly, who can't afford to escape.  

Wilson and Kelling proposed getting the police officer out of the squad car and back on the street, interacting with people in the neighborhood. This  goes back to an earlier notion of the police officer as a maintainer of order, not just a solver of crimes. The policeman on the beat is not just there to haul criminals to jail, but to stop disorderly behavior before it gets out of hand. 

When Rudy Giuliani became Mayor of New York, he and his new police chief William Bratton put this approach into practice.  The result: An estimated 60,000 fewer violent crimes.  "Murder down over 70 percent, robbery down over 60 percent, total violent crimes down by over 50 percent and total property felonies down over 60 percent." (Click here for the full article by George L. Kelling and William H. Sousa.)

Click here for more about the "Broken Windows" theory.  

How does this apply to Tulsa?

There are neighborhoods in Midtown Tulsa that are right on the edge of this situation. In one neighborhood, residents are concerned about students from a nearby high school who loiter in their front yards or in easements behind their homes. Some kids will move along when asked, but others refuse and sometimes retaliate with vandalism. Neighbors feel confined to their homes, parents are afraid to let their young children play outside. 

In other neighborhoods, the problem is negligent landlords and homeowners who have allowed their property to run down. In these areas, vigilant neighbors are doing what they can to keep things in check, working with the Police and Neighborhood Inspections. 

But all too often, the police aren't available. Our police force is stretched thin, with officers going from one emergency call to another, with little time to work on prevention.

Opinions differ about the problem. Some say we need more officers -- Tulsa has fewer than the average for a city our size. Some say we have enough officers but need to deploy them more strategically, and use more civilians for desk jobs. 

How we handle crimes against property is another source for concern. 

In 1999, my home was burgled. My wife returned home to find a girl's bike in the driveway. She noticed that the front door was ajar. Suspicious, she went into the back yard and noticed our bedroom window open. She went to a neighbor and called the police. After a few hours an officer arrived and went into the house to verify that no one was lurking inside.

The culprit had ransacked the house, but knew exactly what he wanted, taking only electronic equipment and my checkbook. He was looking for the most value for the weight he would have to carry.

More police officers arrived later, and it was strange to me that they did not seem interested in gathering evidence. No attempt was made to find fingerprints. When we pointed out that the girl's bike was not ours, and wondered if it had been stolen from a previous burglary, we were told to hold on to it -- it probably belonged to a neighbor kid who forgot about it. In any case the police didn't want it. 

A few minutes later, an officer arrived and handed us a wireless phone headset. He asked if it was ours -- it was -- and he said it had been recovered from a failed attempted burglary a few blocks away. We asked if they needed to hold on to it for evidence. The answer was no. They didn't need to hold on to physical evidence that might link this burglary to others on the same day.

We stopped the stolen checks, and a week or so later got word from the bank that someone had tried to pass one to Pizza Hut in payment for a delivered pizza. The phone number of the place where the pizza was delivered was written on the check. I called this to the attention of the detective assigned to the case; he told me it wasn't enough evidence to get a search warrant.

So the insurance company paid our claim and we replaced what we could.  (Couldn't replace the video of my son's third birthday party.) We had no further contact with the detective. Presumably the culprit has continued his career undeterred. 

I have heard similar stories from many people, like the woman whose lawn mower was stolen from her front yard.  She went inside to answer the phone and when she came back it had vanished in broad daylight.  

I do not know where the problem is. Is the DA unwilling to prosecute?  Are the judges uncooperative? Does the Police Department need  more detectives? All of the above? As your City Councilor, I will work to find the source of the problem and will work with the new Mayor and Council to get it fixed.

Midtown leaders endorse 
Michael Bates

-- Ursula Mueller, Sunrise Terrace and Midtown Neighborhood Alliance leader

"I've worked with Mike on a number of city issues. He brings intelligence, knowledge and enthusiasm to the work of solving problems. Mike will be great for Tulsa and great for District 4. He has earned my support and my vote."

-- Don Burdick, Government Affairs Chairman, Central Park Condominiums