TULSA, Okla. — Downtown Tulsa is booming.
More bars, more restaurants, more people. And now, more police.
WATCH: 'A bold move': Chief Larsen, FOP discuss new downtown division
“When you have more and more people somewhere, the calls for service go up," said Jeff Downs, President of the Fraternal Order of Police.
Chief Dennis Larsen, accompanied by other TPD leaders, attended a city council meeting on March 25. Larsen briefed the council on how the department's first new division in more than three decades came to be.
Local News
Tulsa police announce new division, will cover downtown areas
“It is a bold move," he said. "We do know that there are going to be unknowns that come up, but we are committed to making it budget neutral.”
Larsen fielded a number of questions from almost every councilor, who voiced frustration that they weren't privy to the downtown division before the press conference on March 10.
"I get it, I like it, I wish it could have been conveyed differently," said Councilor Phil Lakin.
Larsen said the goal is truly increasing response times after recognizing a trend of more and more calls coming out of downtown.
WATCH: Tulsa police announce new division, will cover downtown areas:
"Regardless of if we have three divisions or four divisions, we’re still gonna cover every call," said Larsen. "What we’re trying to do is rearrange our force to where we have a quicker response time so we can get to something, handle it, and get on to the next event.”
Downs also attended the meeting and said he thinks this is a move in the best interest of public safety.
"Over the years, the amount of calls for service for 911 services has increased immensely in the downtown area requiring more and more responses from officers," said Downs. "By reallocating officers, it’ll put them closer to the calls, which should reduce the amount of time it takes for them to get to the calls and be effective.”
With 30 years of experience with the FOP, Downs said he knows the department being down more than one hundred officers impacts response times, but he doesn't think the new division will have an impact.
2 News asked Downs if he'd heard anything from officers on the move.
“Really, they’re just trying to see how it plays out," he said. "They’re not really sure yet, so we’ll know more in the next future months.”
Larsen said that so far, he feels the new division is well-received. While he doesn't see any downsides to shifting resources downtown, the chief acknowledged this is a fluid process that could change as they get more experience downtown.
“Will there be some bumps here? Certainly," said Larsen. "We're hoping we have thought and have been brainstorming this for over a year, really focusing on it for the last six months, that we have thought of every possibly bump we’re going to hit. But we know we won’t. There will be somebody who will say 'Well, did you think of this,’ and we’ll go, ‘Missed that one, but we’ll address it.’"
The new division is set to launch in August.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --
- 2 News Oklahoma on your schedule | Download on your TV, watch for free. How to watch on your streaming device
- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- Watch LIVE 24/7 on YouTube
