Legislature(2017 - 2018)GRUENBERG 120
02/01/2018 03:00 PM House STATE AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB293 | |
| HJR29 | |
| HB293 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 293 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HJR 29 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 293-BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR POLICE & TRAINING
3:10:17 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS announced that the first order of business
would be HOUSE BILL NO. 293, "An Act relating to powers of the
Alaska Police Standards Council; and relating to background
checks for admission to police training programs and
certification as a police officer."
3:11:22 PM
ROBERT GRIFFITHS, Executive Director, Alaska Police Standards
Council (APSC), Department of Public Safety (DPS), on behalf of
the House Rules Committee, sponsor of HB 293, offered responses
to questions posed during the 1/30/18 House State Affairs
Standing Committee meeting. He referred to his 1/31/18 letter
to the chair and pointed out a chart and associated graph,
entitled "Alaska Police Officers Per Agency as of July 1,"
demonstrating the trends in the numbers of law enforcement
officers [from 2013 through 2017]. He mentioned that while the
number of law enforcement officers increased overall, that
increase was almost exclusively due to the increase in the size
of the Anchorage Police Department (APD). He offered that
removing APD from the numbers reveals a loss of 42 officers.
MR. GRIFFITHS referred to the question regarding the number of
village police officers (VPOs) in Alaska and responded that APSC
has record of 11 VPOs; the APSC knows there are many more who
are not reported to the council; and presumably background
checks are not performed for those officers.
MR. GRIFFITHS referred to the third question from the committee:
"Could a statutory change empower a municipality with the
authority to send fingerprints directly to DPS for a criminal
history background check?" He stated that under Title 29, the
municipalities already have that authority; however, the issue
is whether they have the resources to comply with state statute
for obtaining access to the information. He pointed out the
required steps on page 2 of the letter, under paragraph (3). He
relayed that for a small town, the task is daunting and costly.
He maintained that the proposal under HB 293 is to allow APSC to
facilitate the fingerprint-based background checks for these
agencies.
HB 293-BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR POLICE & TRAINING
3:33:10 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS announced that as the final order of
business, the committee would once again consider HB 293, "An
Act relating to powers of the Alaska Police Standards Council;
and relating to background checks for admission to police
training programs and certification as a police officer."
3:33:45 PM
REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH, referring to the 1/31/18 letter from Mr.
Griffiths, included in the committee packet, thanked him for his
complete and thorough responses to the questions.
3:34:11 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KNOPP asked for clarification on what services
APSC provides.
3:34:38 PM
MR. GRIFFITHS explained that APSC: facilitates training;
regulates training; sets standards for training; certifies
trainers; and certifies training programs. He said that when
funding allows, APSC either sponsors training events or provides
funds for officers to attend. He relayed that APSC sets
standards, pursuant to the statutes, for the minimum
qualifications for police officers, correctional officers,
municipal correctional officers; and probation and parole
officers. He maintained that all these groups have standards
based on APSC requirements. In every one of those categories of
officers, the applicant must pass a fingerprint-based background
check to verify identity and to ensure there is no disqualifying
criminal convictions on his/her record. He added that those
disqualifiers are in regulation; for example, a felony
conviction in the past ten years would preclude one from
certification.
REPRESENTATIVE KNOPP asked Mr. Griffiths to comment on his
reference to APSC's involvement with trainee recruitment.
MR. GRIFFITHS responded that APSC supports recruitment of VPOs
and all police officers as part of its mission: all officer
vacancies are routinely posted on its website; APSC staff assist
with out-of-state inquiries for those positions; and APSC tries
to educate the officials of small communities about the process
of recruiting and vetting officer candidates.
REPRESENTATIVE KNOPP asked whether HB 293 would mandate
fingerprint and background checks for officer candidates.
MR. GRIFFITHS responded that APSC currently regards fingerprint
background checks of officer candidates to be a mandate;
however, there is lack of compliance with the regulation. He
said that under HB 293, the requirement for a fingerprint-based
background check for certification would be in statute rather
than regulation; it would be a mandate, but "no more real effect
than we currently have."
3:39:04 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KNOPP suggested that for a community with VPOs,
under the proposed legislation, if it chooses not to background
check officers, it could be left with no officers at all.
MR. GRIFFITHS opined that the possibility of that happening
would be no greater under the proposed legislation; villages are
routinely recruiting, hiring, and retaining officers without
certifying them and without notifying APSC; it is a risk they
have chosen to take.
3:40:40 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS opened public testimony on HB 293.
3:41:01 PM
WILLIAM MCKILLICAN, Chief of Police and Director of Public
Safety, City of Hoonah, testified that he has been a police
officer for 17 years in various positions and all over the
state. He stated that the APSC has set, produced, and
maintained the highest achievable standards of performance for
the state's law enforcement professionals. It determines
certification and training eligibilities and in some cases
revokes certifications because of misconduct. It develops,
monitors, and revises training and training requirements and
continually monitors compliance with current regulation and
legislation. He said that APSC has assisted agencies across
Alaska with obtaining pre-employment polygraphs and
psychological testing for officer candidates; it has funded
specialized and advanced training for departments; and it has
assisted academies and departments with funding to meet basic
training requirements.
MR. MCKILLICAN continued by saying that in Hoonah, a rural
community off the road system with just over 800 permanent
residents, there is not an officer employed, past or present,
who has not benefited in some way from what APSC offers. He
said that more importantly, it is the state's citizens who see
the most benefit of producing some of the finest law enforcement
professionals in the nation.
MR. MCKILLICAN stated that the state's budget shortfalls have
had a grave impact on the small communities of Alaska; he has
seen local funding resources dwindle to the point where he has
been forced to reduce staffing and service levels; and just
being able to maintain the department's necessary equipment and
vehicles has been a leadership challenge. He offered that with
these challenges, there has been no reduction in state standards
and requirements for the law enforcement agencies. Like all law
enforcement agencies, the Hoonah Department of Public Safety
(DPS) is required to maintain access to and clearance for the
Alaska Public Safety Information Network (APSIN) and the
National Criminal Information Center (NCIC) to access
information such as criminal history, driving history, wants and
warrants, and to submit fingerprints for prospective officer
background checks. He maintained that these systems provide
critical information to assist in investigations, alerts for
dangerous weather in the field, and information for background
checks on potential officers.
3:44:42 PM
MR. MCKILLICAN relayed that for agencies in medium or large
cities and communities, these tasks do not present the
challenges that they present for small communities like Hoonah.
He said that annual fees, computers, software, network
connectivity, monthly reporting requirements, and internet
connections force him to make decisions that increase risk and
liability. Because of reduced staffing levels and retention
challenges, maintaining these systems in Hoonah has been
difficult; sending staff out of town to fulfill training
requirements to assume terminal agency coordinator (TAC) duties
and responsibilities is an additional, burdensome expense. He
reported that last year the Hoonah DPS experienced the loss not
only of its TAC, but its APSIN coordinator as well. For many
years the experience and knowledge of the coordinator kept the
system running, and for the past 12 months, the department has
struggled to replace the [TAC] and provide the necessary
training for staff to maintain the APSIN and NCIC standards.
MR. MCKILLICAN relayed that APSC provides standards on vetting
potential officer hires and recruits who pay their own ways to
the academies. He stated that he believes that APSC should be
granted access to APSIN and NCIC systems to conduct background
checks and to ensure the state maintains the highest, yet
achievable, standards. The ability for agencies to be able to
rely on APSC for assistance for these functions would be an
enormous benefit to agencies like Hoonah. He said that as chief
of police in a rural community, he strongly supports the
legislation; it would allow APSC to provide critical support to
rural justice initiatives and the governor's public safety
action plan.
3:47:09 PM
REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH referred to the chart from the 1/31/18
letter and asked for confirmation that Hoonah has an APSC
certified staff of four down from the 2015 level of five.
MR. MCKILLICAN said, "That is correct."
REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH asked whether Hoonah could take and
transfer fingerprints using an iPhone.
MR. MCKILLICAN answered that his department can take
fingerprints currently; it has always met the standard put forth
by the state and by APSC. He said that his greatest challenge
at this point is the choice he must make for the next hire -
whether to meet the requirements under the proposed legislation
or to have the department take on the liability and not report
to APSC. He maintained that the latter is the last thing that
he wants to do.
3:49:57 PM
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS closed public testimony on HB 293.
CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS announced HB 293 would be held over.