Connecting neighbors

Ashley Dickson Oso is the Director of Programs and Communications at Neighborhood Alliance of Central Oklahoma. She also lives in the Culbertson East Highland neighborhood. The neighborhood hasn’t always had a positive relationship with the OCPD, but Ashley’s goal was to change that.

Perception is different for everyone. For some, seeing a cop car patrolling in his or her neighborhood might give the sense of safety because the police is there to just check things out and make sure things are okay. For others, seeing the car can cause anxiety and give them the sense that something must be wrong or why else would they be here.

Ashley decided that she wanted to make it very clear that she had a very good relationship with the police, and if that was very visible, hopefully the neighbors would feel more at ease with cars patrolling.

She started to invite the neighborhood police to her front porch for chats. Sitting and talking while neighbors drove by heading out or home for the day was a strong visual cue. It showed everyone that she was not afraid to interact with the police. She understands that the safety of a neighborhood is two-fold, that it’s both the responsibility of the neighbors and the police working together. When one component is missing, the neighborhood’s perception of safety is not as strong.

Ashley is also a big proponent of knowing your neighbors. She would host get togethers so that everyone can meet each other.

She noted that when you know your neighbors and you know what is typical, you also know what is suspicious. She wants her neighbors to feel empowered so she works with them a lot on crime prevention tools. She teaches everyone to be proactive about their safety. Neighbors should acknowledge suspicious activity and address it. They shouldn’t hide from it. She wants everyone to feel like they can take back the ownership of their safety.