Tulsa Public School's Police Department Ready For Start Of School

Classes begin Wednesday for Tulsa Public Schools and for thousands of students headed back to school News On 6 wanted to know just how safe will they be?

The good news for your students this year, Tulsa Public Schools is operating with a full police department staff, meaning there are no current openings for any police officer positions.

Interim Police Chief Dwight Jackson manages a large staff at the Tulsa Public Schools' Police Department. About 20 officers, 20 security guards and 20 dispatch workers are in charge of protecting more than 42,000 students and 7,000 employees.

"Sometimes it gets pretty stressful in here, but they hold it, they're able to hold their composure," said Dwight Jackson.

Jackson says one officer and one to two security guards are assigned to work at each of the district's high schools. There are no assigned officers at the district's middle schools or elementary schools. Instead, they receive what are called rovers.

"They will respond to the site that needs police assistance," said Dwight Jackson.

Officer Jim Cleveland is one of those rovers.

"What I do is I answer calls at any school at any part of town," said officer Jim Cleveland.

On a typical school day, officer Cleveland attends a squad meeting where he is assigned to monitor a certain area within the district.

"District presence on a school ground is what they want and then you kind of roll the dice on where you get a call and how far away it is," said Jim Cleveland.

He says he looks for and responds to fights, intruders, contraband and other disturbances.

"That police officer is responsible for that site, making sure that everything, everybody is safe," said Interim Police Chief Dwight Jackson.

Jackson took News On 6 behind the scenes of the department's dispatch center. It is where police monitor everything in the district and tell officers where to go and what's going on. They have access to all of the district's more than 3,500 cameras which can help with things like monitoring the entrance doors at all schools if someone suspicious is trying to get in the building.

"No one can enter the school until they're buzzed in," said Dwight Jackson.

If ever needed, officers from the Tulsa Police Department can step in to assist the district's officers and security guards.