TULSA, Okla — The City of Tulsa kicked off its Neighborhood Conditions Index (NCI) program.
The city gathered data from each district having to do with walkability, access to community resources and buildings, as well as crime.
WATCH: City of Tulsa aiming to improve neighborhoods through NCI program:
Districts are ordered by which ones need immediate help.
The Sequoyah neighborhood is one of the areas in Tulsa labeled as a top priority due to higher crime rates and poverty.
Evona Garner lives in the Sequoyah neighborhood. She said she’s experienced safety issues in her neighborhood, including having her home broken into twice.
“Gunshots that you hear during New Year’s Eve and things like that," she said. "People that wanna ride motorcycles in private property."
But she said it’s nothing in comparison to what some of her neighbors have been through, with some saying drug abuse and gun violence happened right on their streets.
It’s why the community is hosting meetings with Tulsa Crime Stoppers to teach people how to report crimes and navigate the process with law enforcement through the “Alert Neighbors” program.
The program aims to help community members interact more with their neighbors and law enforcement.
City Councilor Karen Gilbert is the Executive Director of Tulsa Crime Stoppers. She said as part of the NCI program, her goal is to educate people on how to report crime and create an open communication with law enforcement.
“Making sure that we build trust within the police department and the residents of the neighborhood, it takes a village," she said.
Residents in Sequoyah will be assigned roles to monitor their areas and report suspicious activity.
That way, they can also report it quicker to police.
Gilbert also said she wants to improve interactions with the community and law enforcement so they can coordinate on reporting and responding to crime.
“Bringing police officers out to make sure they’re seeing the same thing residents are reporting," she said.
“Our neighborhood is an older neighborhood, it’s a little disjointed at the moment," said Garner. "We needed some assistance in being more cohesive.”
To look at where your neighborhood is on the list CLICK HERE.
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