Alaska State Troopers

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The Alaska State Troopers are the state police force for the State of Alaska, a division of the Alaska Department of Public Safety. The Troopers have 240 sworn personnel and 190 civilian employees, stationed throughout the state.

Contents

1 History
2 Duties
3 Academy
4 External links

History

The Troopers trace their heritage back more than a century, but there was no Alaska-wide police force until 1941, when the Territorial Legislature created the Alaska Highway Patrol. This force went through a series of name changes, becoming the Alaska Territorial Police in 1953, the Alaska State Police after statehood in 1959, and the Alaska State Troopers in 1967.

Before the founding of the Troopers, law enforcement in Alaska was performed by a succession of federal agencies: first the U.S. Army, then the U.S. Navy and Revenue Cutter Service, and finally the U.S. Marshals Service after a civil government was formed in 1884.

Duties

While most state police organizations are primarily charged with traffic and highway patrol duties, due to Alaska's unique characteristics of limited access and lack of local government in much of the state, Alaska State Troopers are responsible for enforcing all criminal and traffic laws throughout the state, making them by default the primary law enforcement agency for many of Alaska's residents.

The Alaska State Troopers also manage the Village Public Safety Officer program, which provides some presence to remote villages too small for a trooper post, carry out wildlife protection through the Bureau of Wildlife Enforcement, perform search and rescue of missing persons, and carry out services usually performed by County (United States) sheriff's departments in other states, such as prisoner transport.

Academy

The Alaska State Trooper Academy is located in Sitka, Alaska.

External links

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