Tulsa Co. Sheriff's Office Keeping This Year's State Fair Safe

NewsOn6.com

TULSA, OK -- The Tulsa State Fair kicked off Thursday afternoon and more than 80,000 fairgoers are expected to visit the Tulsa County Fairgrounds over the next 10 days.

Concerning safety at the fair, the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office says it is on the job and it's a massive undertaking.

More than 130 uniformed sheriff's deputies plus undercover deputies will be out at the fairgrounds making sure rides are being run correctly and that beer is not being sold to minors. Then there's the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office mounted patrol unit that will cover the midway and parking lots at the fairgrounds. 

The sheriff's office says it has its basis covered, but it's not expecting anything major to go wrong.

8/30/2009 Related story: Tulsa Co. Sheriff Office To Provide State Fair Security This Year

In the past, the Tulsa State Fair has been pretty safe.

"We have like 83 to 84,000 people a day and about a half of one percent of those are knuckle heads and a knuckle heads plus beer equals somebody that needs to leave the fairgrounds," said Tulsa County Sheriff's Captain John Bowman.

Bowman says it's important for parents to have a game plan. Bowman recommends picking a location to meet up if you're separated from your child. You should also point out what deputies look like and tell your child to look for one of them if they get lost.

The last day of the Tulsa State Fair is October 11.