The following is in response to a recent release by Representative Justin Humphrey.
The allegations concerning Dick Conner Correctional Center are currently under investigation. Therefore, we cannot provide a comment until the completion.
Like many state agency directors, executives, and staff, Director Steven Harpe travels out of the state for various reasons – all of which are tied directly to his job duties as executive director for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.
Director Harpe has fostered positive working relationships with partner law enforcement entities and other state corrections agencies throughout his tenure. As a result, he has been voted onto the Texoma HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas) board and the American Correctional Association Board of Governors.
In addition to attending those board meetings, Director Harpe has attended conferences for nationwide correctional leaders to learn about and discuss trends affecting the corrections profession, including two sponsored by the Correctional Leaders Association, two by the American Correctional Association, and one by the Correctional Technology Association.
Most recently, he was asked on behalf of CLA to speak as a technology expert at the Justice and Public Safety Artificial Intelligence Summit in Virginia and at the Council on Criminal Justice AI Initiative at Stanford Law School in Palo Alto, Calif., about how AI technology can be used in a correctional environment.
Contrary to “reports,” Director Harpe has not been compensated for his speaking engagements or requested per diem for his travels. The director’s travel costs are minimal to Oklahoma taxpayers as some trips are covered by the host organization. From Sept. 2023 to the present, Director Harpe has traveled out of state nine times, with the total cost to the taxpayers being $5,447.31.
