Legislature(2025 - 2026)BARNES 124
01/30/2025 08:00 AM House COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS
Note: the audio ![]()
and video ![]()
recordings are distinct records and are obtained from different sources. As such there may be key differences between the two. The audio recordings are captured by our records offices as the official record of the meeting and will have more accurate timestamps. Use the icons to switch between them.
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Overview: Department of Public Safety | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL AFFAIRS STANDING COMMITTEE
January 30, 2025
8:01 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Rebecca Himschoot, Co-Chair
Representative Donna Mears, Co-Chair
Representative Carolyn Hall
Representative Ky Holland
Representative Mike Prax
Representative Justin Ruffridge
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
OVERVIEW: DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
JAMES COCKRELL, Commissioner
Department of Public Safety
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented an overview of the Department of
Public Safety.
ACTION NARRATIVE
8:01:59 AM
CHAIR DONNA MEARS called the House Community and Regional
Affairs Standing Committee meeting to order at [8:01] a.m.
Representatives Hall, Holland, Himschoot, and Mears were present
at the call to order. Representatives Prax and Ruffridge
arrived as the meeting was in progress.
^OVERVIEW: Department of Public Safety
OVERVIEW: Department of Public Safety
CO-CHAIR MEARS announced that the only order of business would
be an overview of the Department of Public Safety.
8:04:03 AM
JAMES COCKRELL, Commissioner, Office of the Commissioner,
Department of Public Safety (DPS), presented a PowerPoint,
titled "Department of Public Safety Overview" [hard copy
included in the committee packet]. He shared the department's
mission and key objectives, including recruitment, retention,
and wellness; rural Alaska law enforcement; establishing parks;
purchasing long-range aircraft; illicit drug and child abuse
investigations; and fisheries and wildlife resource protection.
8:16:32 AM
COMMISSIONER COCKRELL, in response to committee questions,
acknowledged the gaps within DPS and said crime levels and
resource allocation are two examples of performance indicators;
statewide drug units interface with law enforcement in Western
states to combat drug trafficking from Mexico; and a Ferry ride-
along program was successfully used as a test case to deter
drugs from entering Alaska through the Alaska Marine Highway
System (AMHS).
8:28:50 AM
COMMISSIONER COCKRELL resumed the presentation with an
explanation of the department's organizational chart. He
emphasized the importance of maintaining a degree of separation
from the state crime lab to maintain the appearance of
impropriety when evidence is tested. He gave a summary of the
Alaska State Troopers' (AST) history.
8:36:08 AM
COMMISSIONER COCKRELL, in response to committee questions, said
aside from drug enforcement, AST does not patrol the
Municipality of Anchorage (MOA); the Matanuska-Susitna Borough,
Kenai Peninsula Borough, and the Fairbanks North Star Borough
are without police power, leaving AST to handle those
jurisdictions; and there is no mechanism for MOA to contract
with AST.
8:41:37 AM
COMMISSIONER COCKRELL resumed the presentation by sharing the
department's following successes:
Since 2018 overall crime rate has decreased 37% and
drug seizures have increased 733%
Number of felony sex offenses has decreased 27%
statewide (2023 to 2024)
No backlog of sexual assault examination kits
awaiting testing at the Alaska Crime Lab
2024: established online system for victims of sexual
assault to track their sexual assault examination kit
2024: the Alaska State Troopers (AST) awarded as the
US Postal Services National Exemplary partner after
AST was identified as the most productive law
enforcement agency in the country working with USPS to
interdict drugs
Troopers seized 1,262 pounds of illegal narcotics
across the state including approximately 42 million
potentially fatal doses of fentanyl in 2024
COMMISSIONER COCKRELL gave an overview of the Division of the
Alaska State Troopers (AST) and its four detachments. In
response to committee questions, he said the North Slope Borough
has its own police department, for which AST offers technical
support and additional assistance for homicides. He resumed the
presentation with graphics on Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) and
the Statewide Drug/Alcohol Enforcement Unit, noting that there
has been an increase in alcohol seizures in western and northern
Alaska. In response to committee questions, he acknowledged
that crime is down, but declined to attribute it to an increase
in funding.
8:51:09 AM
COMMISSIONER COCKRELL resumed the presentation with an overview
of drug seizures in 2023 and 2024. He confirmed that more
resources have been put towards drug interceptions to combat the
high volume of drugs entering Alaska.
8:56:34 AM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Community and Regional Affairs Standing Committee meeting was
adjourned at [8:56] a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HCRA DPS Presentation1 1.30.2025.pdf |
HCRA 1/30/2025 8:00:00 AM |
DPS |