Security Top Priority At Tulsa State Fair

By Lori Fullbright, The News On 6

TULSA, OKLAHOMA -- The Tulsa County Sheriff's Office wants to make sure your experience at the Tulsa State Fair this year is free from crime.

Their trailer is at the east end of the Tulsa Fairgrounds. They'll have more than 100 deputies on duty at any given time plus a number of undercover officers.

The Sheriff's Office is clamping down on teenage trouble makers, ramping up its efforts to keep the parking lots safe and working hard to make sure young children don't get lost.

Deputies have already compiled a list of Tulsa's most wanted, so they can be on the look-out for troublemakers.

Juveniles who are caught stealing or drinking or fighting are not just kicked out or turned over to parents, they are brought to a trailer which has been turned into a make shift courtroom with a district judge who can deal with the troublemaker immediately.

"He will actually arraign juvenile's right there on the spot," said Sergeant Shannon Clark, Tulsa County Sheriff's Office. "And will determine if they need to be taken to juvenile for incarceration or released to their parents or decide what may happen, but, court will be in session on the fairgrounds."

Parents can make sure little kids don't wander away by stopping by the sheriff's booth inside the west end of the QuikTrip Center to get an arm bracelet. They write the parent's name and phone number on it, so if a child gets separated, they just have to find a deputy.

"In years past, we've given 20,000 bands away in one fair," Sergeant Clark said. "We order them by the caseload, so we have plenty and something we're proud of is no child with a bracelet has ever been lost more than 20 minutes."

Deputies will not just react to crime, but will be proactive, checking people for warrants and making sure families have no hassles on the midway, in the buildings or the parking lots.

To make sure your car stays safe while you're in the fair having fun, make sure you don't leave anything visible, like your GPS, your radar detector, purse or phone. If you're going to put your purse in the trunk, do it at home so no one sees you, because they're just break your window and pop the trunk latch.

"We've got mounted patrol in full force and the bicycle patrol and people on foot, so lots of people patrolling the parking lots," said Sergeant Clark.

In addition to staying up on local trends, the fair commander is getting a daily update from Homeland Security to keep up to date on any regional or national trends that could affect safety at the fair.