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Public Safety outlines child‑abduction team, school security training and a new statewide tactical training center; seeks modest budget reduction
Summary
The Department of Public Safety briefed the committee on child abduction response teams, school security training, a tactical training facility groundbreaking, fleet needs and troop staffing goals; DPS presented a slightly lower appropriation request than last year and asked for continued funding for academies and benefit step costs.
Commissioner of Public Safety described projects the department said would make Oklahoma safer while the agency proposed a slightly reduced appropriations request for the coming fiscal year.
Commissioner described the Child Abduction Response Team (CART), a statewide rapid‑response effort that the agency said has recovered 63 children in 2024 and more than 180 since the program began. He told the committee the Highway Patrol’s statewide presence made DPS a natural host for immediate response in the first hours of an abduction.
DPS also reviewed the Secure Oklahoma Schools initiative that has trained thousands of officers and school staff in a standardized active‑shooter response, and said the state will complete training for roughly 8,000 sworn officers this calendar year. The department described an advisory committee to issue guidance for large events after recent national mass‑gathering incidents and said it is coordinating with Tulsa and Oklahoma City on standards for public safety at large gatherings.
The department highlighted the groundbreaking for a new statewide tactical training facility and a new tactical driving and firearms complex. The commissioner described long‑standing fleet problems — many troopers operate vehicles with well over 100,000 miles — and said a move to a regular replacement cycle and an SUV fleet would improve safety and reduce long‑term costs.
DPS reported a current trooper force of about 757 troopers, with a target of roughly 950 to meet long‑term mission needs. The commissioner said an immediate concern is retirements: roughly 85 troopers could retire today, and the agency is running academies and lateral classes to increase hiring; he said an academy pipeline costs more than in prior years and that a $2.5 million academy funding request keeps class throughput consistent with past plans.
On budget posture, the commissioner said the agency’s FY2026 request is roughly 3.5% lower than last year’s appropriated total and that DPS had deliberately trimmed its ask to help address statewide revenue pressure. He asked the committee to consider recurring academy funding of $2.5 million and a $351,000 employee benefit step for annualization, and discussed a modest request tied to academy throughput and benefit step costs.
Commissioner and staff fielded detailed questions on license‑plate readers, use of facial recognition, the operational role of the tactical team statewide, and whether private partnerships should be used in future capital projects. He said many grants and projects have been structured as shared services with other state agencies to reduce costs.
