HB 394: "An Act relating to the Alaska Police Standards Council; relating to the definition of 'peace officer'; and relating to private police organizations."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 394 01 "An Act relating to the Alaska Police Standards Council; relating to the definition of 02 'peace officer'; and relating to private police organizations." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 11.81.900(b)(45) is amended to read: 05 (45) "peace officer" means a public servant or employee of a private 06 police organization vested by law with a duty to maintain public order or to make 07 arrests, whether the duty extends to all offenses or is limited to a specific class of 08 offenses or offenders; 09 * Sec. 2. AS 11.81.900(b) is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 10 (67) "private police organization" means a private organization that 11 (A) is authorized by the Alaska Police Standards Council under 12 AS 18.65.350; and 13 (B) consists of private servants vested by law with a duty to 14 maintain order or make arrests, whether the duty extends to all offenses or is
01 limited to a specific class of offenses or offenders. 02 * Sec. 3. AS 18.65.220 is amended to read: 03 Sec. 18.65.220. Powers. The council has the power to 04 (1) adopt regulations for the administration of AS 18.65.130 - 05 18.65.290; 06 (2) establish minimum standards for employment as a police officer, 07 probation officer, parole officer, municipal correctional officer, and correctional 08 officer in a permanent or probationary position and certify persons to be qualified as 09 police officers, probation officers, parole officers, municipal correctional officers, and 10 correctional officers under AS 18.65.130 - 18.65.290; 11 (3) establish minimum criminal justice curriculum requirements for 12 basic, specialized, and in-service courses and programs for schools operated by or for 13 the state or a political subdivision of the state for the specific purpose of training 14 police recruits, police officers, probation officers, parole officers, municipal 15 correctional officers, and correctional officers; the curriculum requirements 16 established under this paragraph must include training in 17 (A) recognizing persons with disabilities; 18 (B) appropriate interactions with persons with disabilities; 19 (C) resources available to persons with disabilities and to those 20 interacting with persons with disabilities; and 21 (D) the requirements of 42 U.S.C. 12131 - 12165 (Title II of 22 the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990); 23 (4) consult and cooperate with municipalities, agencies of the state, 24 other governmental agencies, universities, colleges, and other institutions concerning 25 the development of police officer, probation officer, parole officer, municipal 26 correctional officer, and correctional officer training schools and programs of criminal 27 justice instruction; 28 (5) employ an administrator and other persons necessary to carry out 29 its duties under AS 18.65.130 - 18.65.290; 30 (6) investigate when there is reason to believe that a police officer, 31 probation officer, parole officer, municipal correctional officer, or correctional officer
01 does not meet the minimum standards for employment; in connection with the 02 investigation the council may subpoena persons, books, records, or documents related 03 to the investigation and require answers in writing under oath to questions asked by 04 the council or the administrator; 05 (7) charge and collect a fee of $50 for processing applications for 06 certification of police, probation, parole, municipal correctional, and correctional 07 officers; 08 (8) authorize private police organizations under AS 18.65.350; 09 (9) establish accreditation standards for private police 10 organizations under AS 18.65.350 that are consistent with AS 18.65.130 - 11 18.65.290. 12 * Sec. 4. AS 18.65.290 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 13 (9) "private police organization" has the meaning given in 14 AS 11.81.900(b). 15 * Sec. 5. AS 18.65 is amended by adding new sections to read: 16 Article 4A. Private Police Organizations. 17 Sec. 18.65.350. Private police organizations. (a) The Alaska Police Standards 18 Council shall authorize a person to establish a private police organization if 19 (1) the majority owner of the organization is a current or former peace 20 officer in this state; 21 (2) the majority owner is a state resident and has lived in the state for 22 at least 10 years; and 23 (3) the person agrees to adhere to the accreditation standards set by the 24 council and any other applicable federal and state laws. 25 (b) The Alaska Police Standards Council shall establish the duties and 26 responsibilities of a private police organization authorized under this section, 27 consistent with the duties and responsibilities of other state or municipal police 28 departments or law enforcement agencies. Private police organizations shall comply 29 with the United States Constitution, the Constitution of the State of Alaska, and 30 federal and state law. 31 (c) After a hearing, the Alaska Police Standards Council may revoke the
01 authorization for a private police organization if the council finds that the private 02 police organization has failed to adhere to the accreditation standards in (a)(3) of this 03 section. 04 (d) A person whose authorization for a private police organization has been 05 revoked under (c) of this section may not reapply for authorization. 06 (e) In this section, "private police organization" has the meaning given in 07 AS 11.81.900(b). 08 Sec. 18.65.360. Private police officers. A person may not be hired or 09 employed as a private police officer, except on a probationary basis, unless the person 10 (1) has satisfactorily completed a basic program of police training 11 approved under AS 18.65.240(a)(1); 12 (2) possesses the other qualifications set by the Alaska Police 13 Standards Council for the employment of police officers established under 14 AS 18.65.240(a)(2); and 15 (3) maintains a valid certificate issued by the Alaska Police Standards 16 Council.