The Secretary serves as the chief advisor to the Governor on public safety and criminal justice.

The position was established, along with the Oklahoma Governor's Cabinet, by the Executive Branch Reform Act of 1986.

The Secretary also provides the overarching management structure for the state's criminal justice agencies in order to deliver improved public services while eliminating redundancies and reducing support costs in order to more effectively and efficiently run the agencies in a unified manner.

Homeland security, emergency management and law enforcement training are also overseen by the Secretary.

The Secretary, unless filling an additional role which carries a greater salary, is entitled to annual pay of $85,000.