JENKS, Okla. — Jenks police are on alert after a spike in burglaries the past couple weeks, something that nearby Bixby residents have also been experiencing.
2 News Oklahoma’s Douglas Braff asked police how they respond to this crime wave.
“[There’s] one thing I just want to address to all the citizens out there and to the individuals that are committing these crimes,” said Joshua Semke, master patrol officer for the Jenks Police Department. “It's not if we find you, it's when we find you.”
According to Semke, 17 burglaries have happened since January’s end, with five of them being home invasions.
He said that’s more burglaries than usual.
“We are seeing an uptick but it's around that time of year where people start, you know, addressing maybe financial issues and they wanna step up to the life of crime, and unfortunately, and that is our job to stop that.”
It was early Tuesday morning in the Yorktown neighborhood when police said two people entered someone’s open garage.
Police posted to Facebook that once the duo entered, they burglarized a vehicle parked inside until a barking dog sent them fleeing. The individuals were reportedly driving a blue, older model Dodge pickup truck.
All this has recently taken place amid multiple home invasions in one Bixby area.
When asked if what’s happening in Jenks and Bixby are related in any way, he said, “Possibly.”
“Our detectives are working alongside Bixby right now and other agencies to determine if our crimes ever happen here in Jenks are in any way similar to the crimes there in Bixby,” he added.
Semke told us they’re increasing patrols.
“We have been doing some overtime hours for other officers that like to come in between the hours of midnight and 6:00 AM and we are hitting these neighborhoods hard — generally, the ones on the south side that's where we're seeing a lot of the crimes take place,” he explained.
“But doesn't mean that we're not also going through the other neighborhoods as well,” he added. “So, our officers are stepping up their game and we are checking for all suspicious activity we could find.”
In the meantime, he said to lock all houses, cars, and garages — and to not keep any valuables or firearms inside vehicles, noting that a “majority of the time they are looking for firearms.”
“We are going to build up these caseloads with the other departments and then once we find enough evidence, prepared to see an arrest coming soon.”
Those with any leads are asked to call JPD’s non-emergency number at (918) 299-6311.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --
- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
- Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- SUBSCRIBE on YouTube
