4 days ago
New safety guidelines available for major Oklahoma events
Gov. Kevin Stitt shakes hands with Oklahoma County Sheriff Tommie Johnson Thursday as he thanks Johnson for his work developing a set of safety guidelines for major events in Oklahoma. (Photo by Emma Murphy/Oklahoma Voice)
OKLAHOMA CITY — As Oklahoma City prepares to host the first games of this year's NBA Finals, Gov. Kevin Stitt on Thursday announced the launch of new security protocols for major events developed by the Secure Oklahoma NOW advisory council.
The guidelines were crafted over five months by a 12-member advisory council who are 'subject matter experts' on emergency preparedness and response. The tool is currently available online for use in planning large events and in case emergency response is needed.
Oklahoma Commissioner of Public Safety Tim Tipton said having this set of standards will help to prevent emergency events and allow for proper responses.
'Prevention is always our primary goal, but then we also have to be prepared for response,' he said. 'If that bad thing happens, then how do we respond? How do we mitigate the amount of damage or harm or hurt that our citizens might be affected by?'
The guidelines are a 'living document' that will change as threats and technology evolve, Tipton said.
'It's one of those deals that there's really no room for failure on our part, we've got to make this work every time,' he said.
The nine-page guide creates a rating system based on various factors at an event like attendance, venue, traffic and event type. Recommendations for steps to take are offered based on an event's rating, with resources provided to implement the guidelines.
The council is made up of Oklahoma's public safety, law enforcement, emergency management and counterterrorism officials who helped craft the recommendations.
Stitt established the council with an executive order Jan. 13 following an attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans on New Year's Day that killed 14 people.
'We're just seeing some of these kind of attacks happen,' he said. 'And as we look forward to the big events here in Oklahoma, I just want to make sure that that as Oklahoma, we're as well prepared as we can to address it in these threats. So tonight, we have the Oklahoma City Thunder game coming up and then we're going to have a championship parade, hopefully, in a couple of weeks. And so the whole world's going to be looking at our city.'
Local officials will have a better understanding of what state resources are available to them, Stitt said, including threat assessments from the Oklahoma Counter Terrorism Intelligence Center and a drone response team from the state Department of Public Safety.
Both Stitt and Tipton encouraged Oklahomans to use the Protect OK app to report concerning or suspicious activity. Submissions to the app are constantly monitored, Tipton said.
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