Police Chief: Officers seeing spike in burglaries

During an Oct. 28 chat session, Tahlequah Police Chief Nate King said officers have seen a spike in burglaries recently and patrol has been altered.

"[We] have detectives working diligently to try to catch the perpetrators that we suspect [are] the same group that has been the spike and they've been on foot so if you see somebody on foot, suspicious in your neighborhood, please give us a call," he said.

At any given time, there are close to four officers patrolling the streets of Tahlequah, and King stressed the importance of calling police if someone see something suspicious or out of place.

"You are our eyes and ears for the most part as citizens of Tahlequah so if you see something, call us. We will respond and if we don't respond, call me," he said.

Local business Lift Coffee Bar was struck by a vehicle over the weekend and King said is asking anyone who may have information on the incident to contact Capt. Steve Arnall at 918-456-8801.

In other business, King took a look at data from 2015 and he said he was surprised to see burglary stats are down 55 percent and property crime is down 35 percent since then.

"We're about almost 40 percent below the national average as far as property crime goes. It's something that took a moment to look at where we've come from and where we are now, to put it in perspective," King said.