BCSO Press Release
Sayre, OK – A recent triennial audit cycle by the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (OLETS) resulted in an outstanding rating of the Beckham County Sheriff’s Office Communications Division. OLETS is a division of the Department of Public Safety and oversees all law enforcement communications agencies in the state.
The audit covered the years 2023 through 2025 and covered several areas of importance in ensuring secure communications. The audit is required by the FBI’s policy regarding criminal justice information and security.
“I’m not surprised, but I am very pleased and proud of what this audit reveals about the efforts and commitment of our dispatch staff,” said Beckham County Sheriff Derek Manning. “They specifically mentioned our Dispatch Captain, Zachary Allen for her efforts in ensuring one hundred percent compliance with all of the requirements which OLETS oversees.
Manning said that Captain Allen and her communications division are well-known throughout the area for their professionalism and out-of-the-box thinking and quick action when it comes to assisting with law enforcement communications needs. “Captain Allen has taught her dispatchers to go beyond answering the radio and telephone, especially in the midst of emergencies and crisis situations,” Manning said. “She has taught them to become an active part of the response by proactively seeking information, whether through law enforcement sources and assets, geo-location searches, public records or social media. Then they forward that information to the field.”
Manning said he has actually been in the middle of pursuits and manhunts and received vital information from his dispatchers because they were not only running the communications operations, but digging into resources to find useable information such as known associates or even life circumstances that might have prompted things like suicidal or dangerous behavior. “Because of her efforts and training, we have a whole communications division that now works to add to the investigation,” Manning said. “Whether it’s a manhunt, a pursuit, a missing child or elderly person, whatever the case, they help us achieve a better, safer outcome. Other agencies even call us sometimes and request Captain Allen’s expertise for their operations. That says a lot.”
Manning said the recent audit results are just another feather in that cap for Captain Allen and her staff.
In the final report, the auditor wrote, “I describe your agency as a ‘5-Star model agency,” a title that only 5 of my 31 counties hold. Your agency exceeds OLETS standards, and I use your agency as a model for others to follow. Your Terminal Agency Coordinator (Captain Allen) is doing a fantastic job maintaining documentation and compliance with OLETS rules and regulations. Thank you for your support in this endeavor.”
Manning said that the high expectations Captain Allen holds for her division within the Sheriff’s Office is key to his agency’s success. “This is a highly technical and lengthy audit process, and Captain Allen and her staff knocked it out of the park. I appreciate their work, and I’m extremely proud of their professionalism.”
