Legislature(2001 - 2002)
01/16/2001 08:00 AM House STA
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE STATE AFFAIRS STANDING COMMITTEE
January 16, 2001
8:00 a.m.
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
OVERVIEW: DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
TAPES
01-2, SIDES A & B
CALL TO ORDER
REPRESENTATIVE JOHN COGHILL, Chair, convened the House State
Affairs Standing Committee meeting at 8:00 a.m.
PRESENT
Committee members present were Representatives Coghill, James,
Crawford, Fate, Hayes, Stevens, and Wilson.
SUMMARY OF INFORMATION
GLENN G. GODFREY, Commissioner, Department of Public Safety,
introduced people who attended the meeting with him. They
included Col. Joel Hard, Division of Fish and Wildlife
Protection; Col. Randy Crawford, Division of State Troopers;
Gary Powell, State Fire Marshal and Director, Division of Fire
Prevention; Kenneth Bischoff, Director, Division of
Administrative Services; Royce Weller, Special Assistant to the
Commissioner; and Lt. Steve Dunnagan, legislative liaison for
the Division of Alaska State Troopers.
COMMISSIONER GODFREY gave a thumbnail sketch of the Department
of Public Safety. He said there currently are 86 officers
enforcing fish and game laws statewide. In addition, there are
12 to 13 United States Fish and Wildlife Service enforcement
officers working out of Anchorage.
REPRESENTATIVE FATE asked about the role of the federal
enforcement officers on state land.
COLONEL HARD said that federal officers become involved in
arrests related to violations on state lands when suspected
violators leave the state before they have been charged. These
cases usually involve commercial guiding issues, he added.
REPRESENTATIVE STEVENS asked what a reasonable level of staffing
would be.
COLONEL HARD said that ten additional Division of Fish and
Wildlife Protection officers ("brown shirts") would be a
reasonable staffing level. He said the division receives about
300 telephone complaints and makes 50,000 field contacts in a
year. He said 5 percent of those contacts result in a citation
or arrest.
REPRESENTATIVE HAYES asked about the level of staffing for law
enforcement.
COMMISSIONER GODFREY said the Division of Alaska State Troopers
has 237 troopers ("blue shirts") in 324 posts statewide. He
said the total number of blue shirts and brown shirts is down by
100 positions since "pipeline days."
REPRESENTATIVE JAMES asked about recruitment.
COMMISSIONER GODFREY said it is difficult to find people to
hire. He said that a recent increase in advertising has
resulted in the Department of Public Safety receiving 1,400
applications. After background checks and interviews, 25 to 30
applicants will remain. He said that all troopers from the rank
of first sergeant on up are not members of a union, but all
other troopers a part of a collective bargaining unit. Village
Public Safety Officers (VPSOs) are not employees of public
safety, but work on contract.
COMMISSIONER GODFREY said one of the reasons the department
wants to bring back the constable program is that many of the
VPSOs do not want to be transferred out of their villages.
Unlike new troopers, who are almost sure of being transferred
within five years, constables would not be required to leave,
but would receive further training and more responsibilities
with a pay range about two steps below a trooper. Commissioner
Godfrey said when he was the lone trooper at the Northway post
during the mid-1970s, he hired two of the first constables, one
for Northway and one for Eagle. The Northway constable, James
Gallen, is now the trooper in Northway, Gallen's home town.
REPRESENTATIVE JAMES said she believes Alaska just needs more
troopers. She asked why the constable program was discontinued.
COMMISSIONER GODFREY said he thought it had been too successful
for its own good. The constables were getting so good at the
job that a question arose about the level of pay for work
performed. He said it is his responsibility to delineate duties
in a manner acceptable to the union.
COMMISSIONER GODFREY said he would like to propose a pilot
program with eight constables. Constables not having to be
transferred would be an incentive for some of the VPSOs to go
through the extra training to become constables. He said there
are pros and cons to troopers being assigned to their home
towns. He said Trooper Gallen has done very well in Northway.
Commissioner Godfrey added that he himself had once been
approached about a transfer to Kodiak, but refused because he
was raised in Kodiak.
GARY POWELL, State Fire Marshall and Director, Division of Fire
Prevention, responded to Representative Stevens' question about
transferring fire marshal duties to local entities. He said
that the division is attempting to move fire marshal duties to
local entities by deferring the authority to qualified
communities. To qualify, the community must have a police
department, a fire department and issue building permits. To
date, the fire marshal has issued eight full deferrals and one
partial deferral, he said.
MR. POWELL said that troopers do investigate to determine the
cause and origin of fires. If the cause is suspicious, they
work jointly with private insurance investigators. In response
to Representative James' inquiry about statistics for prevention
programs, Mr. Powell said there has been a downward trend in
fire fatalities and that the number has leveled off in the last
five years.
COMMISSIONER GODFREY said a female wing with 20 new beds is
being added to the Public Safety Academy, in Sitka. He said the
academy trains all law enforcement officers statewide except for
the Anchorage Police Department, which has its own academy. The
Public Safety Academy also trains VPSOs and has done some
contract training for the Coast Guard.
REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL asked what "non-criminal" calls are.
COMMISSIONER GODFREY said that "non-criminal" means the
assistance does not result in an arrest. For example, a non-
criminal action might involve state troopers assisting local
police with an autopsy in a murder case.
COMMISSIONER GODFREY discussed criminal investigations and the
coordination between the state medical examiner, the state
troopers and the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB). The state
medical examiner performs autopsies and the CIB conducts
forensic investigations, he explained. He said DNA testing is
expanding. The crime lab is collecting DNA swabs from convicted
criminals. As the use of DNA expands, the crime lab will
require additional funding, he said.
COMMISSIONER GODREY thanked the committee for the opportunity to
testify.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
There were no announcements.
COMMITTEE ACTION
The committee took no action.
ADJOURNMENT
REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL adjourned the House State Affairs
Standing Committee meeting at 9:16 a.m.
NOTE: The meeting was recorded and handwritten log notes were
taken. A copy of the tape(s) and log notes may be obtained by
contacting the House Records Office at State Capitol, Room 3,
Juneau, Alaska 99801 (mailing address), (907) 465-2214, and
after adjournment of the second session of the Twenty-Second
Alaska State Legislature this information may be obtained by
contacting the Legislative Reference Library at (907) 465-3808.
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