OKLAHOMA STATE SENATE / From the desk of Sen. Jessica Garvin
Another area that saw incredible investment this session was public safety to better support our law enforcement agencies, courts, and victims. Together, our 14 public safety and judiciary agencies received nearly $980 million.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) received a 41% increase to their budget for expanded operations and staff, modernize their criminal history software, and create the Alauna Raffield Scholarship Fund to help cover the cost of OSBI trainings for law enforcement officers. Among other critical needs, this will be used to increase funding by $1 million for their Internet Crimes Against Children Unit (ICAC). This is one of 61 regional task forces nationwide that was started in 2006 to respond to the increasing number of children and teenagers using the internet and their exposure to predators and child pornography.
Oklahoma’s ICAC Task Force is made up of OSBI agents and over 50 local, state, and federal law enforcement affiliated agencies and prosecutorial entities statewide. This collaboration ensures all law enforcement agencies have the resources they need to develop effective and sustainable responses to online child victimization and child pornography.
The Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission received a substantial revenue boost as well to cover much-needed software updates and create a program to collect and store confiscated alcohol from local police departments, which will greatly help those departments.
The district courts received a 13% budget increase to better serve the public. Just over $1.9 million will increase daily jury duty pay to $50, giving Oklahoma the highest rate in the nation for this important public service. Around $4.6 million will be invested to create the new statewide Family Representation and Advocacy Program to provide better legal representation for children and parents in the child welfare system. This will help get children out of state custody more quickly. Parents who lose custody of their children have the right to an attorney and this program will ensure the state has more well-trained lawyers to get through these cases faster, as well as provide more investigators and expert witnesses. Funds will also go to increase court reporter pay, increase staff for Oklahoma and Cleveland Counties, and cover judicial training programs.
The District Attorneys Council (DAC) is in line to get $3.5 million to further expand their victim services. DAC provides training and support for the 27 elected District Attorneys around the state, along with their staff. They work to seek justice, promote public safety, and ensure the voices of crime victims are heard.
Finally, the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training (CLEET) received a nearly 13% bump for technology and campus upgrades, to construct a state-of-the-art active shooter training building, staff pay raises to help with recruiting the best trainers, and a host of other necessary improvements to continue providing this critical training.
This week we are going over some more public safety funding, along with important policies to continue supporting our brave law enforcement officers, first responders, volunteer firefighters and others who keep us safe.
It’s a pleasure serving the great people of Senate District 43. If I can be of any assistance, please write to Senator Jessica Garvin, State Capitol, 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd. Room 237, Oklahoma City, OK, 73105; email me at [email protected] or call 405-521-5522.
