[Bobby H]

Just to weigh in with my 2¢,

Lawton does have its problems. However, the biggest problem the city has is the negative attitudes of many people living in the city and even more negatively biased attitudes of people living outside of the city.

Lots of people hold onto the "can't do" attitude like it is a security blanket. It helps many people justify doing lots of little negative things that make Lawton worse. "This is just Lawton," they'll say. You even get that from some business people -many of which are the ones who let their store fronts fall into disrepair and fight against any sorts of beautification efforts the city council and other progressive business leaders try to enact. They'll use the "this is just Lawton" thing to shoot down any kind of positive efforts anyone tries to contribute. Some people use the "this is just Lawton" attitude to rationalize doing poor quality work or taking part in unethical practices. With lots of new national businesses moving in the unprofessional attitudes of certain local business people will be their undoing. At least major chain restaurants and "big box" merchants understand the importance of "curb appeal" to any business. No one should be allowed to use the "this is Lawton" attitude to deliver poor quality customer service or to justify doing a half-hearted job.

Lawton has seen a significant spike upward in the crime rate over the last couple of years. Street gang crime is one issue that has been getting a lot of attention. But there are some points I think need a little realistic clarification instead of the broad brush strokes I've seen from other posts in this thread.

Street gang crime is deplorable, but the rise in street gang violence is not something that is unique to Lawton alone. This rise is happening nationwide. And lots of other smaller cities and towns near Lawton are dealing with their own flare ups of gang violence and drug-related crime. Before the "Nick Green Law" was passed towns like Walters and Elgin were infested with meth labs. Altus developed problems with organized street gangs well before it was a significant problem at all within Lawton. Finally, street gang members mainly kill each other and usually do so within their own run down neighborhoods.

I'll also point out how lots of people like to exaggerate how bad the crime problem is in Lawton. It's sort of like that other phenomenon where if anyone gets any kind of wind damage to their home from a severe storm it automatically has to be a tornado that did it.


I've lived in a lot of different cities, some of which were much more dangerous than Lawton. You can take the most run down neighborhood in Lawton and it would practically be Disneyland compared to certain areas of Dallas, New Orleans or even New York City. I disagree with the opinion that Lawton's crime rate is worse than Oklahoma City or Tulsa (that especially goes for the Tulsa comparison).

This isn't to suggest people in Lawton should just relax and let down their guard. The problem is trouble is everywhere, even in the smaller communities. A few days ago con artists ripped off an elderly man in Duncan for over $30,000. Police in Mustang, OK were forced to shoot a man to death when he fatally stabbed a 16 year old girl he kidnapped.

I'm going to take the conceal carry class and get a permit, but it isn't over a "this is Lawton" attitude. Our society nationwide has seen a serious downtown in quality over the last couple years and I am going to take some extra steps to protect myself.

I get the impression from some of the negative comments against Lawton that Lawton has always been this bad. Well, that's not really true.

Lawton was actually a much more dangerous city back in the early 1970's (strangely enough at a time when some of the older residents claim things were so much better). The city had a little over half its current population yet set a murder record of 18 homicides in 1973. That record still stands. In the year 2000, Lawton had only 3 murders. In 2004 only 2 homicides happened in Lawton. The city is currently at a count of 8 murders. The crime rate is a cyclical thing. I'm hopeful that factors like rapidly improving technology and changing attitudes about "hip hop street culture" will push down those rates quite a bit over the next few years.

Despite the uptick in crime rate, I do feel the city is improving. More national businesses and employers are moving into town. A major redevelopment in the downtown area is about to begin. Lots of other incremental improvements have happened in recent years, such as the city kicking all the strip clubs out of town.

While some of the towns in outlying areas offer seemingly safer environments, there are other trade offs. Building codes (at least in Comanche County outside of Lawton) are not nearly as strict as those within Lawton. High speed internet service is spotty at best and non-existent in many rural areas. Most of Lawton west of I-44 has DSL Pro service from AT&T. Mobile phone service is not very good in certain areas either. I'm lucky if I can get a signal at all when I'm in the Wichita Mountains, Lake Lawtonka or a number of other areas north of Lawton.

[HARLOD]

Lawton is a military town , it has gangs of the worst kinds , in the military and in the town itself ,they are not contained in any area but city wide, in the schools and many shopping and eating establishment areas ,BRAC is a term for base closure in other areas , Ft. Sill in Lawton will get many transfers from the closed bases , this will cause the overcrowding of the schools ,(which are marginal now ), increase the already over loaded street traffic ,the police already are inundated with crime solving problems, the drug and gang activity will florish with the dramatic increase of crime ( which is out of control now ), the city government is run by the GOOD OLD BOY city council dominating all city growth and taxing policies, the town is DIRTY , run down and only gets superficial facelifts from council as it benefits themselves, the streets are horrendous and only getting worse . The life quality is very scary ! We do however have an excellent college in Cameron univ, also fair medical facilities. I say MOVE ON !!!

[peggydavis]

So, do you live in Lawton, Harlod? I would think if many new people move to an area that it will improve.

[shariok]

(Note: I did not read the other reply post before I wrote this).
But Lawton, in my opinion is run down. It is starting to grow and shape things up a little bit. My cousin and aunt and uncle live there and have for a long time now. But Lawton, is a military town. Ft. Sill is there. That's where my hubby went to Basic Training. So you get a lot of soliders in the area. (which good be a good thing or bad thing, depending how you look at it.)
Personally, I would NEVER live there, just my opinion.
Good luck! But, do whatever you think is best for your family. You might have a different opinion than what is said on here.
Shari

[ktas428]

I grew up in North Dallas Texas. When we moved to that area, there wasn't much but it grew very fast and then there was everything you could ever want. Years later, I met my husband who grew up in Lawton and I swore I would never live there but of course, never say never. We lived there for 4 years and it wasn't that bad. I think it all depends on how you look at life, over your shoulder or straight ahead.

I gave birth to my son at the county hospital there and had a wonderful experience. My sister-in-law has had 3 of her 6 children there at the same hospital and has had wonderful experiences as well. The other hospital I am not familiar with but I know people like it as well. We had good medical care while living there but did have to go to OK City for some specialties.

The shopping and resturants are sufficient but not ample in my opinion. The mall is a scary place on the weekends at night but I hear they have set some major rules regarding unaccompanied minors even being at the mall past sunset on the weekends, not sure of the details but you could look it up possibly in the local paper. Although, I found the local paper and TV news to be a little shy on detailed information about almost everything. I think the good neighborhoods outweigh the bad and I felt safe outside my house at night. Not as safe at the mall but hopefullythey can get that under control. I know there are gangs but they were really just coming to light when we left there Oct. 2006. Again, check the paper online possibly for more info.

We never had many problems with critters in the city, not sure about outlying areas.

As for Target, there has been rumor of a Target as I know it since at least 2001.....

My husband has a ski boat and loved to take the kids to Lake Lawtonka. It's a nice small lake with easy access public ramps, courtesy slips, a well stocked store and gas. The lake is nestled in the Wichita Mountains so it is quite pretty. The wildlife refuge is a nice place to go as well as Medicine Park and Meers for one of the best burgers you'll ever eat. There is also a great steak house outside the city on the east side.

Although we never had any issues with crime living in the city, you might consider living in Cache or even out towards the Mountains for more peace of mind.

I am not one to keep up with goings on with zoning, city plans, etc. but Lawton is an old, somewhat dirty town. It seems to me that the new businesses going in are held to a higher standard than the older businesses. Not sure if there are plans to change that.

City streets could use improvement and the city is, as far as I can tell, trying to work on that as well as drainage and water/sewage problems. As far as water restrictions, we had them only one summer due to drought but I know that many cities in the south had restrictions at the same time.

Fabric can be bought at Jo-Ann Fabric and Hobby Lobby but there is also a specialty fabric store there, Fabric Works I think. There are also 2-3 quilting stores where you could buy notions. In addition to Hastings, there is a Walden Books in the mall and a used book store in town. Walmart is on the west side and in the center of town with rumor of another one on the east side. Also a KMart between the center and west side. The mall has Dillards, Penneys and Sears plus other little stores, Old Navy, etc.

I skipped around a bunch but I hope this helps you.

[ktas428]

I grew up in North Dallas Texas. When we moved to that area, there wasn't much but it grew very fast and then there was everything you could ever want. Years later, I met my husband who grew up in Lawton and I swore I would never live there but of course, never say never. We lived there for 4 years and it wasn't that bad. I think it all depends on how you look at life, over your shoulder or straight ahead.

I gave birth to my son at the county hospital there and had a wonderful experience. My sister-in-law has had 3 of her 6 children there at the same hospital and has had wonderful experiences as well. The other hospital I am not familiar with but I know people like it as well. We had good medical care while living there but did have to go to OK City for some specialties.

The shopping and resturants are sufficient but not ample in my opinion. The mall is a scary place on the weekends at night but I hear they have set some major rules regarding unaccompanied minors even being at the mall past sunset on the weekends, not sure of the details but you could look it up possibly in the local paper. Although, I found the local paper and TV news to be a little shy on detailed information about almost everything. I think the good neighborhoods outweigh the bad and I felt safe outside my house at night. Not as safe at the mall but hopefullythey can get that under control. I know there are gangs but they were really just coming to light when we left there Oct. 2006. Again, check the paper online possibly for more info.

We never had many problems with critters in the city, not sure about outlying areas.

As for Target, there has been rumor of a Target as I know it since at least 2001.....

My husband has a ski boat and loved to take the kids to Lake Lawtonka. It's a nice small lake with easy access public ramps, courtesy slips, a well stocked store and gas. The lake is nestled in the Wichita Mountains so it is quite pretty. The wildlife refuge is a nice place to go as well as Medicine Park and Meers for one of the best burgers you'll ever eat. There is also a great steak house outside the city on the east side.

Although we never had any issues with crime living in the city, you might consider living in Cache or even out towards the Mountains for more peace of mind.

I am not one to keep up with goings on with zoning, city plans, etc. but Lawton is an old, somewhat dirty town. It seems to me that the new businesses going in are held to a higher standard than the older businesses. Not sure if there are plans to change that.

City streets could use improvement and the city is, as far as I can tell, trying to work on that as well as drainage and water/sewage problems. As far as water restrictions, we had them only one summer due to drought but I know that many cities in the south had restrictions at the same time.

Fabric can be bought at Jo-Ann Fabric and Hobby Lobby but there is also a specialty fabric store there, Fabric Works I think. There are also 2-3 quilting stores where you could buy notions. In addition to Hastings, there is a Walden Books in the mall and a used book store in town. Walmart is on the west side and in the center of town with rumor of another one on the east side. Also a KMart between the center and west side. The mall has Dillards, Penneys and Sears plus other little stores, Old Navy, etc.

I skipped around a bunch but I hope this helps you.

[steveg322]

I just moved here from buffalo, NY in September of this year.

It's not that bad here in Lawton. I love the Wichita Wildlife Refuge and the city itself has every type of store and restaurant you can think of.

The people here are very diverse, as they were in Buffalo as well. There may be rednecks, gang bangers, and trashy people but you will find that pretty much anywhere down south, heck, we had our share of rednecks in buffalo too, believe it or not. Don't get me wrong, a majority of the people here are decent people just trying to earn an honest living.

Theres pros and cons here just like anywhere else. From what I can tell this city is growing very fast and I see a very bright future for Lawton.

[Bass&Catfish2008]

Originally Posted by steveg322

I just moved here from buffalo, NY in September of this year.

It's not that bad here in Lawton. I love the Wichita Wildlife Refuge and the city itself has every type of store and restaurant you can think of.

The people here are very diverse, as they were in Buffalo as well. There may be rednecks, gang bangers, and trashy people but you will find that pretty much anywhere down south, heck, we had our share of rednecks in buffalo too, believe it or not. Don't get me wrong, a majority of the people here are decent people just trying to earn an honest living.

Theres pros and cons here just like anywhere else. From what I can tell this city is growing very fast and I see a very bright future for Lawton.

Great post, Friend!

[Bobby H]

I have a theory that many of the folks who describe Lawton as being a very dangerous town, run down, etc. are folks who haven't visited many other areas of the country to see what "rough" really is.

I lived in New York City for 5 years, from the late 1980s to early 1990s -during the time it set homicide records (more than 2000 in 1990) and crack was an epidemic problem. Neighborhoods like Brownsville, Spanish Harlem and Bedford Stuyvesant make the worst neighborhoods in Lawton seem like Disneyland.

The truly roughest small cities in America are places like Gary, Indiana; Camden, New Jersey and E. St. Louis, Missouri. There's parts of Dallas and New Orleans I would be scared to visit at any time of day.

Even in terms of military towns Lawton isn't the worst place I've ever lived. When I was just a little kid in the early 1970s our family was stationed in Camp LeJune, NC. Jacksonville was a real, out of control ****-hole of a place at the time. Crime was a much bigger problem then. Heck, they even had drive in movie theaters showing hardcore porn. Even Lawton's own crime rate was much worse back in the early 1970s -that's when the city's murder record of 18 homicides in one year was made. Lots of folks in the baby boom and older generations look back at that time as if it was better.

Certainly no one should let down their guard anywhere. Crime can happen anywhere, not just in towns or neighborhoods we love to hate.

At least here in Oklahoma, if we feel the need we can buy pepper spray, tasers, handguns and get carry permits without much difficulty at all. The "make my day" and "stand your ground" laws at least put some thought into the minds of a would be home invader they may be kicking in the door of someone armed to the teeth. Maybe that's one reason why the street gang members in Lawton, Duncan, etc. specifically target each other these days rather than just shoot all over the place indiscriminately like they did 20 years ago.

[MZWTSN]

BRAC is basically, base realignment. They are closing the Fort Bliss Army Post and moving all of those families here to Fort Sill. So some may be temporary, many will be permanent or at least a few years. I live in a small town just outside Lawton called Cache. I just moved here in April, but so far the town seems to be a bit run down in parts. The housing is abundant and there are some nicer new homes being built right next to both hospitals. My experience so far with the medical community tells me that the preferred hospital is Southwestern, and it appears to be in a growth spurt at this time, expanding quickly. Comanche County is the other hospital and seems to be nice enough though I have heard that the attention you receive there is not as great. I have not really seen much in the way of gangs here, but then I try no to be in the areas that would see that activity. Cache is very quiet and only about 10 to 15 minutes from the hospitals, so if you are looking for somewhere nice and private, that's the place, not far from anything Lawton has to offer. Hope this helps!