[Bigfoot424]

I've traveled much of the US, mostly for work. But OK is one state I've not visited. The wife and I are coming through in a few weeks driving from VA to AZ to see our new grandson. (Please, no lectures on the pandemic as we plan on taking all the precautions possible) As a retired LEO I like to research how safe an area is when the wife is with me. I've googled numerous towns along I-40 looking for one to stay overnight and I am blown away by how these towns are listed as very dangerous with some numbers I would not expect. I have little doubt OK is a beautiful state and has plenty of great places to visit and live but I was curious why towns along I-40 are rated as such. A couple of them were from like 2014 so obviously things cold have changed. Two examples were Fort Smith and Shawnee. When I travel I use Hilton properties so I looked at towns that had this hotel chain. We settled on Elk City. Excellent numbers on the violent crimes although property crimes are too high.

Again, I am not disparaging OK as every state has their problems areas end even these areas can be nice places to live or visit as long as you are smart about where you go while there. I was just more curious why the I-40 corridor seems to have so many areas with these kinds of high crime ratings. If there is even an explanation.



Elk City: 3 Elk City is another modestly-sized city located on Historic U.S. Route 66 near the western edge of the state that boasts the state's lowest violent crime rate, a mere 0.61 offenses per 1,000. Elk City's property crime rate, nearly double those of the first two entries in the ranking, keeps it out of the top spot


Here is what I found for Fort Smith: One's chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime here is one in 18. Within Arkansas, more than 95% of the communities have a lower crime rate than Fort Smith.

Shawnee: Dec 3, 2019 — ... safest city according to the study. Shawnee was listed as the least safe city in Oklahoma with a violent crime rate of 12. 23 per 1000 people.

[StillwaterTownie]

In my town, much of the crime is late at night largely caused by homeless people and sometimes teens going around looking to find what they can steal out of cars that may not even be locked. They might even go around checking house doors to see if they're unlocked. Don't leave anything of value in your car. Some people who commit crime have mental or drug addiction issues. Even though a lot of law abiding Oklahomans have guns, criminals are willing to risk their lives. Others crimes are about friends, relatives and enemies getting in fights.

I don't know why Oklahoma towns on I-40 stand out for crime, unless being right next to I-40 makes for a fast getaway.

[eddie gein]

Originally Posted by Bigfoot424

I've traveled much of the US, mostly for work. But OK is one state I've not visited. The wife and I are coming through in a few weeks driving from VA to AZ to see our new grandson. (Please, no lectures on the pandemic as we plan on taking all the precautions possible) As a retired LEO I like to research how safe an area is when the wife is with me. I've googled numerous towns along I-40 looking for one to stay overnight and I am blown away by how these towns are listed as very dangerous with some numbers I would not expect. I have little doubt OK is a beautiful state and has plenty of great places to visit and live but I was curious why towns along I-40 are rated as such. A couple of them were from like 2014 so obviously things cold have changed. Two examples were Fort Smith and Shawnee. When I travel I use Hilton properties so I looked at towns that had this hotel chain. We settled on Elk City. Excellent numbers on the violent crimes although property crimes are too high.

Again, I am not disparaging OK as every state has their problems areas end even these areas can be nice places to live or visit as long as you are smart about where you go while there. I was just more curious why the I-40 corridor seems to have so many areas with these kinds of high crime ratings. If there is even an explanation.



Elk City: 3 Elk City is another modestly-sized city located on Historic U.S. Route 66 near the western edge of the state that boasts the state's lowest violent crime rate, a mere 0.61 offenses per 1,000. Elk City's property crime rate, nearly double those of the first two entries in the ranking, keeps it out of the top spot


Here is what I found for Fort Smith: One's chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime here is one in 18. Within Arkansas, more than 95% of the communities have a lower crime rate than Fort Smith.

Shawnee: Dec 3, 2019 — ... safest city according to the study. Shawnee was listed as the least safe city in Oklahoma with a violent crime rate of 12. 23 per 1000 people.

First, most of the towns have newer development along the interstate and for the most part aren't in the seedy parts of town. I can't think of any town where you are likely to get mugged checking into a hotel.

But Elk City makes sense for a couple of reasons. First, it is basically the last town in Oklahoma with lodging and eating places. Things are pretty sparse from there to Amarillo. The Hilton there is across the interstate from several eating places, Walmart Supercenter. There is a road that goes from the Hilton under the freeway to the eating places and I believe there is a Mexican place right by the Hilton. There is also a road that takes you straight down town and to the main drag in Elk City (Old 66) where there are other places to eat. The Hilton is certainly in a safe part of Elk City and it sits kind of by itself.

From Elk City you are looking at a couple hours to Amarillo and there is a very nice rest stop about 40 miles into Texas if you need to stop. You are six to seven hours to Albuquerque depending on how long you stop. From there you are one good days drive to most of Arizona.

[Bigfoot424]

To be honest I really did not check other towns not off I-40 so no clue what they look like. While the nicer hotels see fewer crimes than the low cost ones they still are not crime free. Of course the wife and I will not visit the known trouble spots in any town we stop at or visit so that won't be an issue. (I saw enough of all that for over 30 years in my job) We'll play it smart but I was just surprised at some of these towns and their stats. But we look forward to seeing OK.

[bagster]

Originally Posted by Bigfoot424

To be honest I really did not check other towns not off I-40 so no clue what they look like. While the nicer hotels see fewer crimes than the low cost ones they still are not crime free. Of course the wife and I will not visit the known trouble spots in any town we stop at or visit so that won't be an issue. (I saw enough of all that for over 30 years in my job) We'll play it smart but I was just surprised at some of these towns and their stats. But we look forward to seeing OK.

I'd stay in Weatherford.

[eddie gein]

Originally Posted by bagster

I'd stay in Weatherford.

That's a good choice, but Elk City gets you 45 more minutes down the road.

[Bigfoot424]

Thanks on the Weatherford suggestion. Never saw that one and sounds like a nice town. Rated very safe as well. eddie. The added distance is not an issue for this one as we are taking our time and not doing 9 plus hours days if we can avoid it.

[WK91]

Don’t assume I-40 cities in Arizona are any better because they definitely aren’t.

As far as I-40 in Oklahoma, the Mustang/Yukon area has always been good to me.

[Threestep2]

Originally Posted by WK91

Don’t assume I-40 cities in Arizona are any better because they definitely aren’t.

As far as I-40 in Oklahoma, the Mustang/Yukon area has always been good to me.

Brand new grocery store Crest in Yukon is a good place to stock up on snacks and sandwiches. The Hampton in Mustang is about a year old and walking distance from a drive through/ walk up of a local coffee shop/roaster.

[eddie gein]

Originally Posted by Bigfoot424

Thanks on the Weatherford suggestion. Never saw that one and sounds like a nice town. Rated very safe as well. eddie. The added distance is not an issue for this one as we are taking our time and not doing 9 plus hours days if we can avoid it.

As western Oklahoma towns go, Weatherford is probably the best one overall relative to offerings and the convenience of offerings located close to lodging. Marginally better than Elk City. Again, I just don't think crime is really an issue anywhere. You'd have to be really unlucky to be a victim in any town along I-40 in Oklahoma.

Now if you want Mexican food...you need to go to Clinton. The town between Weatherford and Clinton. It will fail on your crime stats but it's A+ for Mexican joints. There are three places literally next door to each other and several others throughout the town.