Rural public safety and building a safer Alaska

Protecting the citizens of Alaska is a priority of Gov. Bill Walker's administration; as leaders of departments tasked with carrying out the constitutional mandate of ensuring public safety, we take that very seriously.

Recent coverage in this paper has highlighted concerns related to Village Police Officers (VPOs), their qualifications and their ability to protect the public. These have been concerns of ours for some time, and we wanted to take the time to address the articles, and identify some of the solutions that are already being implemented.

ADN's coverage highlights some of the long-standing struggles of policing in rural Alaska. While state law requires that all police officers receive training, certification, and meet particular standards, that doesn't always happen. In some incredibly problematic cases, the result has been a community placing a convicted violent criminal in a position of authority that allows them to further perpetrate crimes.

These stories are heart-wrenching and incredibly frustrating. When one police officer acts poorly, public trust is damaged, and it takes time to rebuild reputations and relationships. We're grateful that victims are willing to tell their stories and are committed to working with communities to break the cycle.

Those efforts are already yielding positive results. Earlier this week, Gov. Walker signed SB 148 into law in Bethel. The legislation empowers the Alaska Police Standards Council to work directly with village governments to submit thorough background checks for police applicants to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The legislation is a critical step toward making sure that all police officers in Alaska are qualified and of sound character.

The location of Thursday's bill signing was another story of success. The Department of Public Safety is working directly with Yuut Elitnaurviat Learning Center in Bethel to run the VPO Training Academy. The two-week program is required by state regulation for the certification of VPOs. Yuut provided facilities and VPO Academy management, and the department provided experienced and knowledgeable instructors. It all culminated in the graduation of 14 VPOs on June 8. DPS provided full funding for students to attend the academy prior to 2018, and is willing to work with communities to help find and apply for grants to allow their VPOs to attend the academy so they can receive their APSC certification.

In recognition of the longstanding challenges in providing public safety services in rural areas, the governor's Public Safety Action Plan includes a specific focus on rural justice initiatives. For example, we've added two new investigators to handle domestic violence and sexual assault cases, and recently received funding from the Legislature to begin the implementation of 21st-century 911 service across the state. We're also compiling a list of law enforcement and public health contacts from every community in the Last Frontier on a database fully accessible to the public. We also intend to engage in-person with our rural law enforcement counterparts and community members more frequently, made possible due to the enacted budget including an additional $1 million in funds for Alaska State Troopers to travel to rural communities. All in all, we want to partner with individuals, organizations, and governments to find innovative and truly Alaskan solutions to the challenges we face.

A great example of this problem-solving partnership is the state's engagement with rural communities in taking more responsibility for crime at the local level. The Attorney General's Office has been focused for the last several years on partnering with tribes to take on low-level misdemeanor enforcement by diverting these crimes to tribal courts for a civil remedy. Crime directly affects Alaskans on a local level, and solutions will only be successful if the local community is involved. This is also why the Public Safety Action Plan recognized the many benefits of community crime prevention programs. The enacted budget includes funding to bolster these programs and create stronger partnerships between communities and the state. All of these efforts ensure that our communities — from the biggest to the smallest — play an active role in improving public safety.

We recognize that the state of policing in rural Alaska is far from perfect. Our goal is to work together with tribal and village leaders to solve problems, even in an environment of budgetary restraint. Our engagement on these issues will remain ongoing. We invite Alaskans to explore our Public Safety Action Plan and continue sharing their ideas for how we can work to build safer communities by emailing safer.alaska@alaska.gov.

Walt Monegan is the commissioner of the Department of Public Safety.
Jahna Lindemuth is Alaska's attorney general.