Crime statistics in Wagoner County significantly lower than last year

WAGON, Okla. (KTUL) — Encouraging news from Wagoner County when it comes to crime.

The sheriff's office says it's going under.

The Wagoner County Sheriff's Office talked about using grants to solve some of the big problems in their county.

Problems such as domestic violence and their solutions would not cost citizens a cent.

“I don't rely on taxpayers to fund everything we do here. We've applied for a lot of grants over the last eight years. I'd say this agency has received well over a million dollars in grants,” said Wagoner County Sheriff Chris Elliott.

According to the Wagoner County Sheriff's Office, crime has decreased since Sheriff Chris Elliot took office in 2016.

According to crime statistics published on its website, between 2015 and 2024, crimes against persons decreased by 37%, crimes against property by 29% and crimes against society by 21%.

One of the biggest obstacles facing the Sheriff's Office was domestic violence, and it could be addressed without using taxpayer money.

“Domestic violence is one of the most common cases we respond to here. How do we combat that problem? Well, it's about education, but you also have to be able to provide services,” said Sheriff Elliott. So we got a $700,000 grant from the Department of Justice for three years that allowed us to hire a full-time investigator. CJ is the only one who does that. We were the only sheriff's office in the country to get that grant.”

According to Sheriff Elliott, the money was used to improve the department's technology system, fund overtime for deputies, maintain relationships with residents and other agencies, and finally fund a 20-year police pension.

If you go to the website and click on “View Crime Statistics,” the statistics are broken down for each category and shown for the last year.

The number of crimes against people has been almost halved.

In 2023, there were a total of 324 crimes, compared to only 181 this year.

Residents reacted to the news online with comments such as “WCSO is the best,” “Thanks, I was just looking for information,” and “Sheriff Elliot is the best.”

“I and other sheriffs in the state have been working with the legislators. We have now received $300,000 in funding from the state of Oklahoma that we can use for whatever we want.”

Sheriff Elliott also spoke about the flock cameras, which he believes are a very effective tool.

He says he would like to use another grant to purchase even more cameras.

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