Tulsa Housing Authority Says Partnership With Sheriff's Office Paying Off In Safety

The Tulsa Housing Authority said its partnership with the Tulsa County Sheriffs Office is leading to a drop in crime at its apartment complexes over the past year.

Leaders with the Tulsa Housing Authority say the first step in creating a safer environment was to create a bond between law enforcement and the community.

"Historically, our residents have had probably not the best relationship with law enforcement because typically in the past when law enforcement were on our properties, it was because something bad was happening," said Ginny Hensley, Tulsa Housing Authority.

That's why the housing authority teamed up with the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office to start the community enhancement program. You'll see deputies spending time in complexes - like Apache Manor - building relationships with neighbors.

"We're not going away. We're here to help them out so when kids come out here to play basketball, they don't have to worry about gunshots - so they can make sure the kids get to school and get off the school bus and come home," said Deputy Matt Gray, TCSO.

Related Story: Deputies Team Up With Tulsa Housing Authority For Safer Communities 

It's been over a year since the community enhancement program started, and we spoke with neighbors who say they notice a big difference here in the complex.

Bernadine Himes has lived at Apache Manor for 10 years. She said she and her kids have felt much safer over the past year.

"There's not people out here drinking and smoking at the green boxes and stuff like that, so it's a lot quieter," she said.

"It was horrible. It was bad at one point in time."

"We have individuals on every property that'll talk to us," Deputy Gray said. "They don't want the crime there. They want their kids and family members and grandma, grandpa to have a safe community."