Oklahoma Secretary of Public Safety

The Oklahoma Secretary of Public Safety is a member of the Oklahoma Governor's Cabinet. The Secretary is appointed by the Governor, with the consent of the Oklahoma Senate, to serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The Secretary serves as the chief advisor to the Governor on public safety and criminal justice.

Oklahoma Secretary of
Public Safety
Great Seal of Oklahoma
Agency overview
FormedJune 6, 1986
Headquarters3600 N Martin Luther King
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Employees9,764 (FY2011)
Annual budget$1.2 billion (FY2011)
Minister responsible
Child agencies
WebsiteOffice of the Secretary of Public Safety

The current Secretary-Designate is Tricia Everest who was appointed by Governor Kevin Stitt in 2021 and awaits Senate confirmation, and if confirmed will be the first woman to hold this position.[1]

Overview

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The Secretary of Public Safety was established in 1986 to provide greater oversight and coordination to the public safety and criminal justice activities of the State government. The position was established, along with the Oklahoma Governor's Cabinet, by the Executive Branch Reform Act of 1986. The Secretary advises the Governor on public safety policy and advises the state's public safety agencies on new policy as directed by the Governor. The Secretary also provides the overarching management structure for the state's criminal justice agencies in order to deliver improved public services while eliminating redundancies and reducing support costs in order to more effectively and efficiently run the agencies in a unified manner.

The Secretary is responsible for overseeing State police services, criminal investigations, criminal justice and adult criminal corrections. The Secretary also coordinates the State's justice system by overseeing all state prosecutors and generally maintains public order throughout the State through oversight of all State law enforcement agencies. Homeland security, emergency management and law enforcement training are also overseen by the Secretary. The Secretary serves ex officio as the Governor's Representative for Highway Safety. As such, the Secretary is responsible for administering all funds from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for the purposes of promoting highway safety.

Oklahoma state law allows for Cabinet Secretaries to serve concurrently as the head of a State agency in addition to their duties as a Cabinet Secretary. Historically, the Secretary of Public Safety has also served as the Commissioner of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety. However, the current Secretary Chip Keating does not share this role, with the position Commissioner currently filled by Rusty Rhoades.

The Secretary, unless filling an additional role which carries a greater salary, is entitled to annual pay of $85,000.

Reporting officials

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Officials reporting to the Secretary include:

Office Officeholder Since
Attorney General Gentner Drummond 2023
Director, Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission A. Keith Burt 2002
Director, State Bureau of Investigation Ricky G. Adams 2018
Director, State Bureau of Narcotics Donnie Anderson 2020
Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Eric Pfeifer 2011
Executive Director, Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training J. Morrison (Acting) 2017
Director, Department of Corrections Scott Crow 2019
Director, Department of Emergency Management Mark Gower 2019
Commissioner, Department of Public Safety John Scully 2020
Executive Coordinator, District Attorneys Council Trent Baggett 2017
Director, Office of Homeland Security Kim E. Carter 2011
Executive Director, Indigent Defense System Craig Sutter 2017
State Fire Marshall Robert Doke 2000
Executive Director, Pardon and Parole Board


Budget

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The Secretary of Public Safety oversees a budget for Fiscal Year 2020 of $1 billion. The budget authorization is broken down as follows:

Agency Funding (in millions) Employees (in FTEs)
Criminal Justice
Office of the Attorney General 38.3 207
District Attorneys Council 125.2 1,081
Indigent Defense System 19.6 109
SUBTOTAL 183.1 1,397
Law Enforcement
Alcoholic Beverage Law Enforcement Commission 3.6 31
Department of Public Safety 184.3 1,424
Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control 20 143
State Bureau of Investigation 37.6 318
Office of the State Fire Marshall 2.8 23
SUBTOTAL 248.3 1,939
Corrections
Pardon and Parole Board 2.2 23
Department of Corrections 548.9 4,181
SUBTOTAL 551.1 4,204
Science and Training
Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training 6.3 40
Office of Chief Medical Examiner 12.1 94
SUBTOTAL 18.4 134
Emergency Management
Department of Emergency Management 7.2 30
SUBTOTAL 7.2 30
TOTAL $1,008 7,704

List of secretaries

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# Name Took office Left office Governor served under
Bob Ricks 1995 2003 Frank Keating
2003 2004 Brad Henry
Kevin L. Ward 2004 2011
Michael C. Thompson 2011 2017 Mary Fallin
Rusty Rhoades 2017 2019
Chip Keating 2019 Present Kevin Stitt

References

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  1. ^ "Stitt picks lawyer-philanthropist as public safety secretary". March 22, 2021.
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