The campus police departments for OSU in Stillwater and Tulsa are combining, providing more opportunities for both. Pictured are OSUPD Chief Leon Jones, far right, and Capt. Colt Chandler, far left, with the OSU-Tulsa Police Department.

OSU-Tulsa PD combines forces with OSU Stillwater police

Tuesday, August 13, 2019

Oklahoma State University-Tulsa has entered into an agreement with the Oklahoma State University Police Department to integrate the OSU-Tulsa department into a combined agency.

OSUPD Chief Leon Jones will lead the new combined department. On Aug. 5, he walked a beat on the Tulsa campus, getting to know the campus and the community.

“By combining and sharing services, both departments will benefit from additional specialized training opportunities and the availability of extra officers at both campuses whenever the situation demands,” Jones said. “Once we looked at all the benefits of this merger, it made sense.”

OSU-Tulsa has eight full-time officers providing round-the-clock coverage for the campus. OSU’s Stillwater campus has more than 30 officers. Capt. Colt Chandler is spearheading many of the integration efforts, ensuring that both departments have standardized processes and training as well as the same mobile applications such as GeoSafe, which provides GPS tracking so every officer and dispatch can see the location of every unit. GeoSafe also allows for direct messaging between units and groups.

“My goal is to help facilitate a smooth transition to create a platform of shared services between both departments,” Chandler said. “By sharing services, both departments will have additional support. At the least, that means officers can attend training and take vacations. At its best, it will mean providing seamless, quality service to the community at both campuses. The integration is going great so far.”

Community commitment
“We are proud of OSU-Tulsa’s reputation as a safe campus,” said OSU-Tulsa Vice President for Administration and Finance Ron Bussert. “In large part, this is due to the presence and diligent work of our OSU-Tulsa University Police Department, who are on campus 24/7 to serve and protect. This combined department will enable our police officers to better serve our campus, as well as provide cost savings to the OSU system. We look forward to additional safety training for faculty and staff, new community outreach initiatives and enhancements to our campus security systems.”

Jones agreed.

“We have made a commitment to serving the Tulsa campus and the surrounding community. Community policing will be the emphasis of what all the officers will do. A successful police department is all about relationships. We cannot police without the community’s help. Trust is vital and we are committed to continuing to build on the relationship already established between OSU-Tulsa and the officers.”

MEDIA CONTACT: Shannon Rigsby | Public Information Officer | 405-744-9081 | shannon.rigsby@okstate.edu