Eye On Safety: How to report suspicious activity during NBA Finals celebrations

Though Game 6 of the NBA Finals will be played in Indianapolis, events all across the Oklahoma City metro are giving Thunder fans the chance to cheer on their team.

With that being said, it is up to law enforcement to make sure everyone can safely enjoy themselves as the Thunder push for the team's first NBA championship.

RELATED: How officers are preparing for crowds ahead Game 6 of NBA Finals

News 9 spoke with Captain Alan Young, director of the Oklahoma Counter Terrorism Intelligence Center, to learn how they plan to keep Oklahomans safe before, during and after the big game.

Q: What's going on as far as collaboration between local, state and federal authorities to secure a large-scale event like a potential victory parade? 

A: For weeks now, we've been planning and assisting with Oklahoma City local authorities, the NBA [and] Paycom Center in preparing for the Finals and what we hope to be a parade and celebration of the victory. 

Q: What, if any, threats have been made at this point?

A: As of today, I'm not aware of any specific threats, but in planning, we're always monitoring for any threats regarding Oklahoma City in relation to the Finals. Our analysts are monitoring social media, open source information, and gathering information from our federal, state and local partners. 

Q: What are some of the things that you're keeping an eye out for in the event that there are a bunch of people downtown tonight or even a parade? 

A: Anytime there's a large gathering, there's a concern for us, and so we encourage people to play a role in keeping the community safe by reporting any suspicious activity. If they see someone you know, leave a backpack unattended or anything of that nature to report that to us immediately. 

Q: There is an app called Protect OK that's free to download. How does that help you get this real-time information so that you can monitor it for any potential threat?

A: Our app is free to download on the Apple platform or Android. It is very easy to use for kids, for adults. You can upload pictures, videos, and put in all of the information about suspicious activity that you observe. Send that to us, and our analysts will get it. They immediately vet it and disseminate that to where it needs to go, so that assists law enforcement with the criminal intelligence and lets the decision makers have information to have intelligence, lead policing or maybe even possibly deter an attack. 

Q: What would you want folks to know to keep themselves safe?

A: If you see something, say something. The Protect OK app is in coordination with the nationwide campaign of "If You See Something, Say Something." So if something makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up, something's out of the ordinary, report that it may be nothing, but it could be the missing puzzle piece to solve a crime or even an attack. 

Q: Is it best to use the Protect OK app, or do you call 911?

A: If it's an actual emergency, people need to be there now, boots on the ground, call 911. Again, if it's suspicious activity that you're just not sure of, it's out of the norm, and you feel like this is something that you need to report, we prefer the app. You can upload pictures, videos, put all the information in there, and it gives our analysts the information that they would need.