Oklahoma’s New Protect OK App Already Helping Law Enforcement Prevent Crime

Oklahoma has a new app to report suspicious activity and it's getting results. The state said this is about stopping crime before it happens. 

This app is designed to be user-friendly. Leaders at the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety said they’ve already reviewed credible threats.  

When bad things happen, people hear about it and read about it. “Studies have shown that a lot of these school shootings, or different community shootings, there’s always somebody who knew something,” Sarah Stewart, director of media operations at the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety. “I don’t ever want anybody, kid or adult, to be fearful when they go out in a public space.” 

The app Protect OK offers people a place to report suspicious activity. “Report any kind of threat,” Stewart said. 

Tips from this app go to the Oklahoma Counter Terrorism Intelligence Center – or OCTIC. “We have intelligence analysts there that look over the information,” Stewart said. 

Stewart used work as a television news journalist – working in front of the camera to give people information about a crime after the fact. She said this app is all about learning information ahead of time to prevent a crime from happening in the first place. “Kind of a shift in law enforcement right now from just responding to, ‘how do we get ahead of this?’” Stewart said. 

Public safety means something to Stewart. The photos in her office explain why. She’s a parent herself and she wants her children to be safe. In September, Stewart’s daughter Kate was at the state fair when shots were fired. “She was near the building, and everybody took off running,” Stewart said. “It made me angry as a mom – that this is what my kids have to deal with now.” 

Stewart said Protect OK might prevent this from becoming a story. “It’s time to use something like this in Oklahoma,” Stewart said. 

They’ve already followed credible threats including a “potential school shooting,” Stewart said. 

Stewart said she struggles to describe this app’s success. “It’s hard to say,” Stewart said. “What is success? Success is nothing.”  

However, that’s the good news, because the best news at times means there’s nothing to report. The app is free and anonymous, and anyone can even upload suspicious videos and photos. Here is a link to download the app.