Mannford PD Holds Class On Oklahoma Sex Offender Laws

Oklahoma law enforcement officers are brushing up on changes to the state's sex offender laws with the help of a Mannford's police department.

Law enforcement officers from as far as Blackwell were in Mannford to learn about some of the changes made to Oklahoma sex offender laws.

The class is the first of its kind in the state, and 40 officers from different departments across the state signed up for it.

“We want to know where they're at, what they're doing, are they in violation. Also, just mainly keep our citizen's safe, our children safe,” said Mannford Police Chief Lucky Miller.

The course teaches the basics to sex offender registration and keeping tabs on sex offenders.

Miller said almost every year since 1989, sex offender registration laws in the state have changed - sometimes multiple times in a year. He said the changes could be as small as adding or removing a word, but one word can change the entire meaning of a law.

“We want to stay up with the laws and the rules and make them comply with what they're supposed to be doing,” Miller said.

The chief said the state has never offered a class like this before.

Miller’s training officer, Mike Nealey, has done extensive research on the topic and wanted to share what he'd learned with other officers.

MPD submitted the idea to the Council of Law Enforcement and Education and was approved to host the course.

Miller said the half-day class will likely put sex offenders who aren't following the laws in jail.

“A lot of them that we've talked to at break have come up and said, 'Ya know, I have x, y and z sex offenders that are in violation of something right now but I didn't know about it until this class today,’” he said.

The Mannford Police Department plans to hold more classes in the future.