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Most encampments still clear weeks after Operation SAFE

Most encampments still clear weeks after Operation SAFE
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TULSA, Okla. — October 1 marked two weeks since Operation SAFE wrapped up in Tulsa.

From observations by 2 News, many sites swept by Oklahoma Highway Patrol have stayed mostly quiet.

WATCH: Most encampments still clear weeks after Operation SAFE

Most encampments still clear weeks after Operation SAFE

Gov. Kevin Stitt announced the end of state troopers ordering people to disperse from hidden and unhidden sites around Tulsa back on Sept. 17, boasting almost two million pounds of items picked up by troopers and Department of Public Safety volunteers.

The governor's statement at the time said that "it is up to Mayor Nichols and Tulsa officials to ensure state and local laws are enforced and camps are not reestablished. OHP will continue to monitor state property..."

City of Tulsa didn't respond to 2 News' questions Oct. 1 on whether it's monitoring the sites.

"They left, but now they're coming back," Tulsa resident Jose Serrano said of the encampment of homeless individuals who stay at the IDL underpass on Archer Street.

It is one piece of state property those unhoused are clearly seen at daily, adjacent to local shelters that are consistently at capacity.

Serrano said he has seen little difference after Operation SAFE aside from occasional trash pickups.

"I see people there with syringes," Serrano told 2 News. "Not just alcohol, syringes. And they'll throw it right there in the ground. They're drug addicts or alcoholics, and some of them they have no choice but that, you know?"

An OHP spokesman told 2 News on Oct. 1 it has no update on its monitoring of sites, and that it is "an ongoing operation as needed."


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