Initial Report and Recommendations - Alaska Department of Law

“The State of Alaska is mandated by the state constitution to provide basic publicsafety services within the areas in our region where no local governing body providesthese services. The State provides funding for a VPSO in only nine of our villages. Thismeans that, in the best-case scenario, six of our 15 villages must make-do withoutVPSOs. As it is, the funding that we receive does not afford enough to pay for salariesthat would attract anyone for this difficult job. With a starting salary of $14 an hour, aVPSO may qualify for food stamps and public assistance under certain circumstances,and studies show that an alarming number of VPSOs are forced to seek this assistance.Statewide, the turnover rate of VPSOs is estimated at 40 percent annually. In our region,only 1/3 of our villages currently have a VPSO. In the villages that do have a VPSO, theperson is on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year with minimal overtimebudgeted for them. They do not carry weapons and must rely on the Troopers in Nome ifa situation escalates. Yet one study found that 75 percent of unarmed village officers hadresponded to a perpetrator with a firearm.”Melanie Edwards, Vice President, Kawerak, Inc.Another change recommended by the Commission that would benefit lawenforcement is banning written order sales of alcoholic beverages to dry or dampcommunities, thereby preventing residents of dry communities from taking delivery ofalcohol in areas where it is legal to receive alcohol. 83 Furthermore, the Commissionacknowledges that there is a need to make it easier for law enforcement to detect illegalshipments of alcohol to rural Alaska and that shipping alcohol in plastic containers makesdetection more difficult (compared to shipping in glass containers). It thereforerecommends that shipping of alcohol in plastic containers should result in a sentencingenhancement or aggravator, unless the containers are sent to a distribution site. 84Given the relative lack of law enforcement in rural Alaska to enforce state andtribal orders related to child protection, child abuse, domestic violence, and sexualassault, the Commission recommends that (a) the State adequately fund and staff theVPSO program to help provide this important function, (b) federal funding be obtained85, 86for tribal law enforcement, and (c) cross deputization of law enforcement occur.Because the lack of adequate medical response in many rural Alaska villagesmakes sexual assault crimes harder to prove, and the lack of law enforcement withspecialized training also aggravates the problem, the Commission recommends that theDepartment of Public Safety, in conjunction with regional Native non-profit corporations(a) develop part-time law enforcement positions for smaller rural Alaska communities83848586Recommendation 17.Recommendation 18.See Alaska Federation of Natives Resolution 04-14 adopted at the 2004 Annual Convention, aresolution in “Support of Rural Law Enforcement in Alaska's Villages” supporting the VPSO program,and calling on the State legislature, governor and congressional delegation to design a program that willadequately address public safety needs in villages. See also Final Report to Governor, AlaskaCommission on Rural Governance and Empowerment, 1999 (a local law enforcement officer should bepresent in every community in Alaska, with particular attention to off-road communities; all categoriesof officer should be fully trained, equipped, staffed, paid, and acknowledged as part of the overarchingpublic safety system; effective public safety requires coordination with local communities, tribes, andregional non-profits. The Department of Public Safety should train local officers to extend the reach ofthe public safety system; training for local officers is necessary to help them balance cultural sensitivitywith professional ethics.Recommendation 19.Alaska Rural Justice and Law Enforcement Commission - Page 49