Soon after his arrival in
Diyarbakır, a center of conflict with Kurdish separatists and guerillas, he made an announcement on
police radio: "From 3310 (Okkan's badge number) to HQ. Since two days, I have been on inspection in the city, and I realize that my colleagues have no sense of duty. This is my first and last warning." This announcement was a sign of what he was not, the sort of his predecessor police chiefs. One of his first official activities before assuming office was to unblock the street in front of the police headquarters, which was barred to civilians for security reasons. He soon also lifted the security roadblocks within the city and installed
surveillance cameras covering critical locations in the city for crime prevention. Okkan used to observe the streets of Diyarbakır on the giant monitor in his office during the evening. In the chaotic atmosphere of Diyarbakır, police officers preferred to stay in the office for so-called "desk duties", since going out on the streets was seen as very risky. Okkan sent all police officers, male and female, out on the streets, asking them: "What are we afraid of?" He instructed his subordinates to treat the town's citizens with kindness and affection.
Social activities The
policewomen in Diyarbakır went for the first time with his order in public, and controlled traffic in the city. He deployed two patrolling
police cars each occupied with two female officers. The one was tasked to pick up runaway children or to search for lost children, and to deliver them to their parents. The other team helped out the walking-handicapped elderly. Policewomen at the
Diyarbakır Airport used to undertake the boarding operations for the elderly, and to escort them to the exit gate. Okkan induced the airport authority to purchase wheelchairs and to put them in service. In that time, the citizens of Diyarbakır were not accustomed to meet uniformed officers in the streets. They deemed the police consisted of
anti-riot vehicles and
batons. However, the new police chief was determined to show the good side of the police. This behaviour astonished the people much. The citizens, who almost did not encounter the former police chiefs, met Okkan frequently. They liked him more and more when they got to know him. In a very short time, Okkan managed to create confidence, and made the people believe in his objectives. His motto was "We are for the people. I was ordered to protect life, possessions and honor of the citizens. Here, I came for that." The football club of Diyarbakır,
Diyarbakırspor, had hard times. A fan of the local club, Okkan used to attend all of their home matches without missing any. During the game, he acted as if he was the club's president, not as the police chief, and took care of the team. He used to hug the players and to run around the field with the club flag in the hand for
celebration after a goal scored by the home team.
Fighting terrorism While Okkan made a significant impression on the citizens through his social projects assisting, among others, the elderly, disabled and runaways, critics insisted such activities exceeded the scope of his duties. However, the
public relations specialist did not forget his main duty as a member of
law enforcement. His primary target was the illegal fundamentalist pro-Islamic
Kurdish Hezbollah, which is not related to its namesake group in
Lebanon. Violent acts by Kurdish Hezbollah were directly mainly at the group's opponents, including PKK sympathisers. On January 17, 2000, the Kurdish Hezbollah's leader
Hüseyin Velioğlu was killed in his villa at
Beykoz,
Istanbul during a raid by the police forces. Okkan played a major role in the crackdown against the Kurdish Hezbollah, in which hundreds of group members were arrested, and more than 150 bodies of murdered victims were found throughout the country. He proved that several unsolved murders had been committed mostly by Hezbollah rebels rather than by security forces. His colleagues and close friends began to warn Okkan to ride in an armored car. He declined such recommendations with the words "What would the citizens do when I ride an armored car?" One week before his death, he released a list of 26 Hezbollah hitmen at a press conference. And, 45 minutes before the attack on him, he stated in an interview with a journalist that he is not afraid of the Hezbollah. He once said nobody could kill him in Diyarbakır or in his hometown
Hendek because the citizens would protect him. ==Assassination==