Crisis with law enforcement in Alaska. Many areas have no police and response times are lengthy. Rape/Assault in progress took 4 hours.

**Terminator** · 02-07-08, 12:16 AM

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — In the four hours it took Alaska State Troopers to arrive at the Eskimo village of Nunam Iqua, a man choked and raped his 13-year-old stepdaughter in front of three younger children. He had already beaten his wife with a shotgun and pistol-whipped a friend after an evening drinking home brew.
Across the remote, frozen reaches of Alaska, scores of native villages have no full-fledged police officers at all. And help in an emergency can be a long way off.
"We're just trying to hang in there," said Edward Adams, mayor of Nunam Iqua.
Alaska's villages are often desperately poor, with people subsisting on hunting and fishing. Many communities cannot afford police forces. At the same time, the Alaska State Troopers don't have the manpower to put officers on patrol in every village.
As a result, when serious crimes are committed, many villages must rely on troopers based in towns far away. And it can take days for help to arrive if the weather is bad or troopers have more pressing cases.
During the attack in Nunam Iqua more than two years ago, locals in the village of 200 had to call troopers in Bethel, 155 miles away. But the troopers' aircraft was being serviced. So they had to charter a plane to get to the community on Alaska's western coast.
Since then, tribal leaders in the village have hired a single public safety officer. But she has no law enforcement training and is unarmed.
Nunam Iqua and many other villages are also eligible to tap into the state-funded Village Public Safety Officer program and hire what is known as a VPSO, a brown-uniformed peace officer who receives up to 10 weeks of training from the state troopers and carries pepper spray and a Taser, though no gun.
But the turnover rate among VPSOs has been high as 40 percent, because the job is stressful, with low pay and little backup. And many villages can't attract good applicants because of inadequate housing, the low wages and the astronomical cost of living in Alaska's remote communities. Nunam Iqua, for example, has no housing to offer a VPSO.
The mayor said there have been several burglaries in the village in recent months and a suspicious fire that badly damaged the tribal office. Those cases have not been solved. Adams said having a VPSO would at least be a deterrent to crime.
"We never have anyone patrolling, and that encourages young people to steal," he said. "Enforcing the law would be a lot of help."
VPSOs function as all-around emergency responders in remote communities, answering calls about family disputes, drownings, suicides, fires and search and rescues, and protecting crime scenes until troopers arrive. Most VPSOs are natives themselves.
A state task force has taken a long, hard look at the VPSO program, created in 1979. The panel released its recommendations last week, calling for hefty raises from the current base pay of $16.55 an hour to $21, a boosting of the force from 51 officers to 111 over the next four years, and help in developing housing for them.
Every village with more than 150 residents would get one VPSO. Communities with more than 500 residents would get two.
"These people are the first line of defense," said the task force chairman, state Sen. Donny Olson of Nome. "It's easy to burn out. It's easy to get tired and worn out, and you don't have any backup."
Howard Amos was a VPSO for 10 years in the island village of Mekoryuk. He would get calls at all hours and have to arrest people close to him in the Eskimo community of 200. The pressure was too much for the low pay, said Amos, now mayor of the village.
"My family was becoming concerned for my health," he said. "After some time, you lose all your friends. That sort of thing happens in small communities."

**countybear** · 02-07-08, 01:09 AM

I'd apply, but I don't like the idea of freezing my jewels off. Sorry.

**JAYBIRD33081** · 02-07-08, 01:57 AM

sh*t i should go up there for a while just so i can put it on a resume and maybe someday it will help me get a LEO job in MN lol lol thats crazy that they are that under maned but with how remote some of them places are its to be expected

**Ak peace ofc** · 02-07-08, 02:26 AM

I went to the AK Trooper academy and there was a VPSO class there. These guys are very well trained and not as under paid as you would expect. Here's the bad part, they don't have guns. The for some reason, the State does not want to pay the insurance to get them armed. They only carry tasers, OC, batons, and the have a shot gun for " animal control". I looked into the job and seriously considered it. I got picked up by another agency instead. If someone wants to get their foot in the door as a LEO, Alaska is a great place to go. It's not cold everywhere like most think. I lived in SE Alaska and we only got an average of 6" of snow at a time.... Anchorage and Fairbanks get's up to 90 degrees in the summer. Right now, there is about 11 major departments hiring.....

**10-42Adam** · 02-07-08, 02:52 AM

If I was born there I'd probably stay and work there. But there's no way I'd want to leave the changing seasons of where I live now to move to Alaska's freezing temperatures. Looks like the only way I'd move there is if I were an aspiring criminal as it sounds like there's a good chance of being successful there on the wrong side of the law. Let's hope this changes fast...

**JAYBIRD33081** · 02-07-08, 02:54 AM

hey AK whats the cost of living like up there? i dont mind snow or cold so much hell i from MN lol what are some of the better cities to work in?

**Ak peace ofc** · 02-07-08, 03:06 AM

The cost of living is higher, but the pay is better in most places. I have a few friends who work for the Troopers, they have made up to 100K/yr. As a trooper, you are required to live in the " Bush ", a remote area for at least one year..That's were they make the big bucks...It is totally different policing. Last week, I was talking to one of my fellow officer's, in one day he was on a boat, 4-wheeler, snowbile, and flew prisoners to jail... You do tons of flying taking prisoners's,mutual aid,ect...

**JAYBIRD33081** · 02-07-08, 03:12 AM

acually that sounds really interesting i gonna have to spend some time on the web looking at some of them depts up there. a remote area for a year doesnt seem to bad after working full time and going to school full time for years lol

**Ak peace ofc** · 02-07-08, 03:18 AM

If your interested in Alaska, go to the Alaska Job Bank(Alexis)... There is a list of LEO jobs in the search bar under protective services...When I went took my first job in Alaska, I didn't care where I got hired. I just wanted my foot in the door. The State Academy was a great place to train...16 week bootcamp...Live in academy.. Doesn't sound that great, but it was one of my best memories....

**JAYBIRD33081** · 02-07-08, 03:23 AM

oh yea a foot in the door is a great thing well i think a live in academy woud be perfect cuz then you have 16 weeks b4 you have to find a apt or something. thanks for the heads up on the job bank.

**Ak peace ofc** · 02-07-08, 03:29 AM

Some agencies will pay for moving expenses and even a place to live. The North Slope PD, AKA Barrow PD, are on a 2 week on 2 week off schedule..I went to the academy with a guy who lives in Seattle and fly's up on his 2 weeks...

**JAYBIRD33081** · 02-07-08, 03:32 AM

a 2week on 2 week off lol i never heard of that acually that aint bad set up at all. i tryed to look in the Alexis but you have to register to view them and it wont let me register because i dont live in AK lol but thats alright i will still find all the jobs online i will just go to all the PDs websites lol

**Ak peace ofc** · 02-07-08, 03:35 AM

Oh yeah, don't register...The departments will want you to go through them anyway....

**JAYBIRD33081** · 02-07-08, 05:59 AM

oh yea i finding everything i need on dept website and other jobwebsites thanks for all the info its really helpful man it looks like some beautiful country up there.

**Ak peace ofc** · 02-08-08, 02:16 AM

Good luck...If you need more info shoot me a message....

**Terminator** · 02-08-08, 02:53 AM

Originally Posted by Ak peace ofc

If you need more info shoot me a message....

That's something I was hoping to see about 10 posts ago in this thread.

**JAYBIRD33081** · 02-08-08, 03:17 AM

lol yea now that i scrolled though the thread we did take it over lol lol sorry guys

**10-42Adam** · 02-08-08, 10:02 AM

I was on Craiglist the other day and noticed that they are even posting up job wanted ads on there. I was pretty surprised by it...they must be desperate for people big time.