Legislature(2021 - 2022)DAVIS 106
04/15/2021 08:00 AM House TRIBAL AFFAIRS
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| Presentation(s): Rural Public Safety Update | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON TRIBAL AFFAIRS
April 15, 2021
8:02 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Tiffany Zulkosky, Chair
Representative Dan Ortiz
Representative Zack Fields
Representative Geran Tarr
Representative Mike Cronk
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION(S): RURAL PUBLIC SAFETY UPDATE
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
APAY'UK MOORE
Aleknagik, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided invited testimony during the
presentation on rural public safety.
JAMES COCKRELL, Commissioner Designee
Department of Public Safety (DPS)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided invited testimony during the
presentation on rural public safety.
LEONARD WALLNER, VPSO Program Manager & Coordinator
Chugachimiut
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided invited testimony during the
presentation on rural public safety.
VIVIAN KORTHUIS, Chief Executive Officer
Association of Village Council Presidents (AVCP)
Bethel, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided invited testimony during the
presentation on rural public safety.
JASON WILSON, Public Safety Manager, VPSO Program
Central Council of Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided invited testimony during the
presentation on rural public safety.
ACTION NARRATIVE
8:02:21 AM
CHAIR TIFFANY ZULKOSKY called the House Special Committee on
Tribal Affairs meeting to order at 8:02 a.m. Representatives
Cronk, Ortiz, and Zulkosky were present at the call to order.
Representatives Fields and Tarr arrived as the meeting was in
progress.
^PRESENTATION(S): Rural Public Safety Update
PRESENTATION(S): Rural Public Safety Update
8:03:00 AM
CHAIR ZULKOSKY announced that the only order of business would
be invited testimony on the topic of rural public safety
[provided by Ms. Apay'uk Moore, Commissioner James Cockrell, Mr.
Leonard Wallner, Ms. Vivian Korthuis, and Mr. James Wilson].
She requested the first invited witness, Ms. Moore, to state the
name of her community.
8:04:04 AM
APAY'UK MOORE, stated she is from the community of Aleknagik.
Responding further to Chair Zulkosky, she said the village of
Aleknagik has under 300 full-time residents year-round, is
located 20 miles outside of Dillingham and 350 air miles from
Anchorage and is accessed by plane or road from Dillingham.
CHAIR ZULKOSKY inquired about the existing public safety
presence within Aleknagik and Ms. Moore's experience on the
night described in her written testimony, provided to committee
members, when she had to call for public safety support.
MS. MOORE responded that presently there is no public safety
despite Aleknagik being just a 30-minute drive from Dillingham
which has a police department and an Alaska State Troopers post.
She related that according to the city council it is hard to
find applicants, and explained it is difficult for a local
person to occupy that position given the social dynamics and
controversies that arise when punishing community members who
are in close-knit families. She said it was an awakening
experience when she dialed 911 and was told she could not be
helped because she was out of city limits, nor could her call be
transferred to the next possible safety option. Instead, while
shaking and terrified as the man circled her house trying to get
in, she had to find a pen and paper to write down the phone
number for the troopers. She stated it was a sobering moment to
realize how self-reliant she was going to have to be.
8:07:39 AM
CHAIR ZULKOSKY asked whether a public safety official was able
to appear at Ms. Moore's home following this break-in attempt.
MS. MOORE answered, "No, not that night." She said she was able
to contact neighbors who then helped help fix the window that
was broken by the intruder and clear the area to make sure the
intruder wasn't hiding in the basement or near the house.
Another neighbor invited her to stay at their place, she stated,
at which point she shut down the house and left.
CHAIR ZULKOSKY inquired about Ms. Moore's later conversations
with a trooper.
MS. MOORE replied she had several interactions; the one
described in her testimony was over the phone and the trooper
later came to her property. During the initial phone call, she
related, she felt unheard and stereotyped as emotional even
though she tried to portray herself as an educated individual
and urged the trooper to not stereotype and demean her. The
trooper's demeanor changed when he later saw her in person, she
stated, because she has brown hair and light skin and doesn't
look Native. As she walked around with the trooper, she was in
disbelief at the victim blaming and being told she shouldn't
have windows and shouldn't have equipment visible. The point in
having the trooper there, she continued, was because someone had
broken into her house, not to have a property evaluation of what
she was doing wrong and what she was doing to make herself
appealing to criminals.
8:11:20 AM
CHAIR ZULKOSKY shared that she and Ms. Moore recently discussed
that it doesn't necessarily mean there needs to be more public
safety or law enforcement individuals available in a community.
She requested Ms. Moore's perspective on what types of resources
or considerations should or could be made to improve the
experience she had while seeking support in what felt like a
life endangering moment.
MS. MOORE responded that for preventative measures, it isn't
necessarily that more law enforcement is needed. She related
that people in Igiugig, a remote village with no public safety
officer, have told her that Igiugig's strategy is to let people
know they are not going to be tolerated if they conduct
themselves in ways that are not contributing to the community.
She related that the trooper said people in rural Alaska must be
as self-reliant as possible, and while she understands that, she
questioned why troopers are based in these rural locations as
false pillars for safety. She questioned why, if people in a
community must defend themselves, they are not being helped to
organize a backup safety plan instead of being given phone
numbers advertised to call for safety. Phone trees have been
mentioned, she said, but there have been no meetings to help
people understand that. She suggested that if there isn't
funding for full-time jobs for people to be living in the
communities, then annual self-defense classes should be offered.
MS. MOORE continued her response. She noted that the person
attacking her home was a young man. Studies have shown, she
pointed out, that recreational activities can be preventative
for youth getting into trouble and choosing a criminal path.
Ensuring that communities have safe basketball courts, among
other things, costs less than full salaries. She pointed out
that in her specific experience everything was wrong: 911 was
wrong, the training she received to call for help failed, and no
one was punished for the crime.
CHAIR ZULKOSKY requested Commissioner Cockrell to provide his
invited testimony and an update on the work that the Department
of Public Safety has been doing on rural public safety since his
appointment
8:16:24 AM
JAMES COCKRELL, Commissioner Designee, Department of Public
Safety (DPS), provided invited testimony during the presentation
on rural public safety. He stated that he came to the committee
to listen because to make things better the needs of the people
being served must be known; it cannot be based solely on what
DPS thinks as a department. He applauded Ms. Moore's courage to
come forward with testimony and documentation about her
encounter with the Alaska State Troopers, and said he is
disappointed she had a negative encounter because the department
needs to strive to leave a victim and even those who are
arrested with a positive feeling.
COMMISSIONER COCKRELL specified that rural law enforcement in
Alaska is a difficult task for state troopers and village public
safety officers (VPSOs). He said he has been to Aleknagik and
is familiar with the region and that at one time there was a
VPSO. He stated that law enforcement in Alaska's villages,
whether troopers or VPSOs, does matter and there most likely
would have been a response had there been a VPSO.
8:19:28 AM
COMMISSIONER COCKRELL expressed his commitment to improving DPS
services in rural Alaska because rural law enforcement is the
heart and soul of Alaska State Troopers and is why there is an
Alaska State Troopers. He stated that over the years Alaska
State Troopers has gotten tied up in the growth of the urban
areas, which has taken some resources away from rural Alaska.
The Alaska State Troopers represent rural Alaska and the state's
government, and when troopers show up to a village it is a ray
of hope that the crime will be solved, and the perpetrator will
be taken out of the village.
COMMISSIONER COCKRELL related that DPS wants troopers to go to a
village to interact and spend time, not just to arrest someone.
He explained that sometimes it's difficult because the caseloads
are heavy, especially in the Yukon-Kuskokwim (YK) Delta. Many
troopers are in "hub areas" so that they can spread out with
aircraft and vessels to get to the villages. Finding the
infrastructure to house the VPSOs and even providing telephone
and internet services is difficult, he continued, which is
probably one reason for the high turnover rate. He reiterated
his commitment to improving the professional law enforcement of
Alaska State Troopers in rural Alaska and reiterated that he is
sorry about Ms. Moore's experience with the agency.
8:22:34 AM
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS thanked the commissioner for his service
and commitment. He noted the decline in [the number of] VPSOs
and inquired about the commissioner's vision for ultimately
having public safety in every community. He further inquired
about exploring other options, such as partnerships with tribal
entities to empower local communities if the state cannot
provide law enforcement. He offered his hope for setting a goal
of law enforcement in every community.
COMMISSIONER COCKRELL replied that in addition to VPSOs the
department runs the academies for village police officers. He
stated that if funding can be found, there is a lot of room to
get tribal police officers to at least handle the tribal aspects
of violations since each tribe has its culture and sets of rules
to follow. He related that former Governor Parnell's goal was
to put 120 VPSOs on the ground; the number got up to 116 but
then there were cuts in the VPSO Program and it became hard to
start recruiting VPSOs. He advised that a look needs to be
taken at different avenues to entice VPSOs to stay on the job,
as well as increasing VPSO salaries because they live in
villages where things are more expensive and must often fund
their own housing and own phones. Commissioner Cockrell pointed
out that VPSO training is at the Alaska State Trooper Academy,
which provides consistency when doing investigations, gives
troopers and municipal police officers a better understanding of
what the VPSO Program is and lets them integrate and engage
prior to graduating from the academy, and puts the VPSO on more
equal ground with the trooper. He said he hopes this can
continue, but a way needs to be found to keep up the numbers.
He noted that village police officers provide vital roles in
their villages but are not actually police officers under Alaska
police standards because they don't meet the qualifications,
which affects what they are allowed to do. While there are
options, Commissioner Cockrell continued, everybody will need to
think out of the box to figure out the best option. It is
imperative to include nonprofits, tribes, and villages, he
added, because they are the ones being affected by either having
or not having law enforcement.
8:27:59 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ORTIZ pointed out that Ketchikan has both trooper
and city police protection, whereas Hydaburg doesn't presently
have a VPSO, and the closest trooper is a good distance away in
Craig. He asked whether there is a prioritization that says
where the department's limited resources will be deployed to
provide the overall best protection possible.
COMMISSIONER COCKRELL responded that the department does not
have a strategic map which says how DPS resources are to be
prioritized; rather he equates it to a chessboard where DPS is
always moving things around. There is no continuity, he stated,
for example in the last four years he has worked under five
commissioners and since he left there have been three colonels.
Without that continuity it's hard to have a strategy, he
explained, plus there is the yearly cycle of budgets where DPS
never knows what its yearly budget is going to be. For example,
one year while he was a colonel $10 million was cut and 32
trooper positions had to be eliminated in less than a year.
Therefore, he advised, it is hard to sit down with an objective
strategy to decide where the department's resources are, so a
lot of it comes from the call volumes. While he was colonel, he
continued, he pulled the troopers out of the Seward Highway to
Girdwood, he didn't fill the trooper position in Haines based on
crime status statistics, and Ketchikan has been discussed.
Commissioner Cockrell said he has about 44 troopers in the
Matanuska-Susitna Valley and as that area grows the call volumes
go up; more cases were handled per trooper in the Matanuska-
Susitna Valley than per trooper anywhere else in the state. The
bottom line, he advised, is that DPS doesn't have a strategy,
the department takes the information available, and a lot is
reactive, and it changes yearly.
8:34:07 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ORTIZ asked whether there has been any historical
ability for the troopers to communicate on a regular basis with
municipalities to work together and cooperate on an overall
strategy. He further asked whether there are any tools
available to get a better participation from local communities
that choose not to have local municipal police and so rely
totally on state troopers for their public safety, where other
communities choose to pitch in with support and city police.
COMMISSIONER COCKRELL answered he doesn't have the authority to
tell a community that it must provide police services and tax
its citizens. He said the department certainly works closely
with its local partners; for example, DPS supports the Anchorage
Police Department (APD) from helicopters to investigative tools
and brings the APD's crime techs into the DPS crime lab. The
City of Wasilla, he continued, picks the low crime areas of the
city, which leaves the Alaska State Troopers having to spend a
substantial amount of time dealing with the other areas.
Wasilla and Palmer could expand their city limit, but nobody
wants to pay taxes, and for Ketchikan there could be borough
police. Soldotna and Kenai could certainly look at expanding
their city limits; Soldotna is trying to do this but is being
fought hard. He said that if at some point the state wants to
[give that authority] the legislature and governor will have to
push that, but until then DPS will still provide free service to
most of the state.
8:38:40 AM
REPRESENTATIVE TARR, regarding retention and providing housing
for recruitment, pointed out that [federal] recovery funds have
been talked about as jobs bills, so it seems like a strategic
opportunity and priority for a public safety investment that
also puts people back to work. She suggested the committee
write a letter in this regard. She recalled the commissioner
stating that at one point the state had 116 VPSOs during the
time when the goal was 120 and asked where that number is at
today. She further asked what the commissioner has been able to
do in terms of adding troopers.
COMMISSIONER COCKRELL replied that to get troopers and VPSOs to
the villages and smaller communities they must have adequate
housing. He said the department has a state housing program
where DPS manages housing in rural areas for its troopers. Much
of the housing is not acceptable compared to what troopers are
used to living in. The only way the department can entice its
troopers to go to rural areas is to have adequate support for
them when they get there, which includes housing for their
families. Since he started with the department in 1983, he
related, DPS has struggled with adequate housing in rural areas,
and so has the VPSO Program. He said the Alaska State Troopers
could not function without the VPSO Program, and he is super
supportive of the VPSO Program because it is mission-critical to
the department. He said DPS has 52 VPSOs and he can provide the
committee with a list of the communities with VPSOs.
8:42:44 AM
COMMISSIONER COCKRELL, responding further to Representative
Tarr, said the department still struggles with recruiting. Last
year DPS hired 36 new troopers and 33 left for a net gain of
three. Currently, he continued, 200 are "in the hopper" but to
get a class of 20-30 DPS needs between 800 and 1,200 recruits
signed up and going through the process. The department lost $3
million this year, so didn't fill all its trooper positions.
The department must have significant and consistent funding, he
advised, for DPS to plan to hire troopers. Given the cost of
training a trooper, the best thing is to retain that trooper by
taking care of the quality-of-life issues. He explained that
the more troopers DPS has on the road or in the field, the
higher their quality of life when they are off duty. Otherwise,
they are working lots of overtime, are on standby, and
overloaded with cases, so they become report writers and are not
adequately investigating the crimes. This is especially seen in
the Matanuska-Susitna Valley. This needs to be fixed and the
only way to fix it is to have consistent funding, he stressed.
A retirement system needs to be brought back for Alaska's
troopers or law enforcement. Commissioner Cockrell related that
in everybody's career, including his own, there are dark periods
of struggle and what keeps everyone going is knowing that in 25-
30 years they can retire, along with knowing that if injured on
the job they will be taken care of. But that isn't had right
now, he pointed out, and that needs to get fixed.
8:45:53 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ORTIZ inquired about the roadblocks for those
VPSOs who have the legal right to carry a weapon in their
duties, but somehow in the process are not allowed to carry a
weapon even though they have the legal right to do so.
COMMISSIONER COCKRELL confirmed there is a law to carry firearms
but said there is a process. He explained that, first, the
agency sponsoring the VPSO must decide that it's willing to take
the liability risk to arm its VPSO because the liabilities go
way up. Then, by law, the VPSO must go through a psychological
test which entails a process for DPS to make that happen, a
process with which DPS struggles. He stated that DPS is not
trying to hinder the VPSO's ability to carry a firearm. If he
was a VPSO in a village, he added, he would want to carry a
firearm because pretty much everybody in Alaska is armed. He
recounted that when he was a colonel, maybe two of the 50-plus
VPSOs were armed. He further explained that DPS must engage the
not-for-profits to ensure they are on board with assuming a lot
more risk because VPSOs are not state employees.
REPRESENTATIVE ORTIZ took the commissioner's answer to mean that
the local providers must be willing to take on a greater
liability risk, so ultimately a greater financial burden for
liability insurance. He surmised this to be the main roadblock.
COMMISSIONER COCKRELL deferred to Jason Wilson for an answer.
He said that when an organization provides a firearm its
liabilities, costs, and potential for lawsuits go up.
8:49:40 AM
REPRESENTATIVE CRONK shared that when he was a teacher, he
welcomed troopers into the school to show students that the
troopers are humans. He said the question is how to get local
people to want to do those VPSO jobs, and related that some of
the most successful troopers he has seen were the ones living in
and involved with the community and who provided a positive
presence. While the nationwide view of police is not very good,
he said, Alaska's troopers and police force are held in high
esteem. He suggested that for housing the state should partner
with the villages and regional corporations to build the housing
and then the state leases the buildings. Building the housing
would provide jobs in the villages, he added, and would be a
win-win because [the villages or corporations] would still own
the building rather than the state.
COMMISSIONER COCKRELL responded that troopers in the field are
the best recruiters because they have [personal] contact. He
said most of the housing in rural areas is leased from local
people in the villages, rather than the state owning them.
8:53:33 AM
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS thanked the commissioner for his
comprehensive vision on getting adequate enforcement in the
field through workload, quality of life, housing, and retirement
[benefits]. He asked whether as much as possible is being done
to recruit from across the state, and whether the commissioner
sees opportunities for improvement so that DPS employees are as
reflective of the state as possible. He concurred Alaskans
support their police and troopers and said he would like the
strongest recruitment program possible.
COMMISSIONER COCKRELL answered that the goal is to obtain a
trooper force that is reflective of Alaska's population, and to
do that recruitment must be from within. He related that when
he went through the academy in 1983 there were 38 recruits, and
all were Alaska residents. That has changed over the years
probably due largely to economic reasons, he advised. Alaskans
are not stepping up to be Alaska State Troopers and a fix for
that needs to be found.
8:55:10 AM
CHAIR ZULKOSKY noted that there has recently been a tenuous
bright line, whether intentional or unintentional, that seems to
indicate a stark difference of perspective within DPS between
state troopers and VPSOs, particularly with the department
having so many resources while VPSOs can only get so much. She
offered her hope that the bright line will grow dim with
Commissioner Cockrell's leadership and commitment to the VPSO
Program, and that there will be a shared interest between the
state and the tribal non-profits managing these programs and
employing the VPSOs. She requested the commissioner to speak to
his vision of how to improve that dynamic of VPSOs not being DPS
employees but helping to carry out the [DPS] mission.
COMMISSIONER COCKRELL replied that there is always going to be
inherent conflict whenever there are two competing agencies. He
said it is important that the department communicate openly and
honestly with the non-profits running the VPSO Program. The
department is responsible for providing the funding to the VPSO
Program as well as for auditing the program, he added. The
sticking point between DPS and all the not-for-profits is how
much money DPS is going to give them and how DPS is going to
give them the money. He recounted that the department used to
have one coordinator in Anchorage overseeing the program, but it
has since been decentralized and now it is the responsibility of
individual detachments. The biggest key is understanding that
both have important missions that are interconnected all the
time, he continued. The department is kind of the big brother
given its statutory authority within the state, and DPS must
ensure it is treating the VPSOs with respect and giving them the
needed support, including financially. He stated that it would
be his preference if the funding went directly from the
legislature to each of the nonprofits if that is legal. That
way, he continued, the nonprofits would know upfront how much
money they are going to get, and it takes DPS out of being the
agency they must come to every time they want to buy something.
CHAIR ZULKOSKY thanked Commissioner Cockrell. She then asked
Mr. Leonard Wallner to provide his invited testimony.
9:00:29 AM
LEONARD WALLNER, VPSO Program Manager & Coordinator,
Chugachimiut, provided invited testimony during the presentation
on rural public safety. He stated that Chugachimiut is an
Alaska Native nonprofit organization representing Prince William
Sound and Lower Cook Inlet. He said the region's four villages,
communities of 300 or less people, are served by village public
safety officers (VPSOs), with two of the positions filled and
two vacant. One of the two VPSOs is from the region, and one is
not, which is the typical 50 percent threshold. The strong
preference is for local hire, and this was the case in the early
years of the program which started in 1979, he continued. But
today's reality is that that's no longer the case, which gets
back to the 50 percent threshold.
MR. WALLNER explained that one of the several reasons for the
difficulty in recruiting someone from the community to be the
VPSO is family relationships. Villages typically are small and
there are family dynamics involved when a lot of folks are
related to each other. Another reason, he said, is that the
required training to become a certified VPSO is 16 weeks long,
which is a long time for folks to be gone from home, especially
with needing to tend to their families and the tribulations that
go on when they are not there. He recounted that about nine
years ago the VPSO academy was eight weeks long at the DPS
academy in Sitka. Another commissioner then broke it into three
segments of five weeks, three weeks, and two weeks, which
increased the cost of travel significantly even though the
periods of time away from home were shorter. Now the academy is
16 weeks, which has its pros and cons, he continued. The VPSOs
train at the DPS academy with the troopers and come away with
the same training that the troopers and municipal officers
receive.
9:04:27 AM
MR. WALLNER stated that a limited pool of applicants is another
reason for difficulty in local recruitment there are only so
many eligible people in the communities and people are not
coming forth saying that this is the job they want. He said
cultural barriers are yet another reason for difficulty in local
recruitment. Language can be an issue because English is not
always the first language in the communities. Another hurdle
that can be difficult to overcome, he continued, is that the
Alaska Native culture is more of a hands-on type of learning
environment as opposed to the academy's focus on classroom and
bookwork. He pointed out that community avoidance is another
issue because becoming the VPSO is also becoming the police
officer and so the person tends to become shunned. Someone
throwing a party in their house is not going to invite the cop
to come over.
MR. WALLNER said another hurdle is the unarmed aspect of the
position. While the statute problems on that were lifted in
2014, he stated, seven years later it really falls more so upon
the employers, the nonprofits. The Chugachimiut board of
directors has taken a firm position that VPSOs historically have
never been armed and the board has no desire to arm its VPSOs
now. Applicants have come to Chugachimiut who are retired or
spent time with another agency, he related, and not being armed
changes the perspective on whether they want to do the job.
9:08:09 AM
MR. WALLNER discussed public safety challenges, of which first
and foremost is the remoteness of the communities. For example,
he noted, transportation to two of Chugachimiut's villages is
once or twice a week unless an airplane is chartered or someone
has their own boat, plus weather can play into that. He cited
an event in one of the Chugachimiut communities where a public
safety emergency occurred, and the entire village had to go into
lockdown. At the time there was no VPSO in the community and it
took the troopers 19-23 hours to get there, meanwhile the folks
in the community are fearing for their safety. Mr. Wallner
pointed out that there are also cultural misunderstandings and
acceptance - there is language, subsistence, and foods. He said
the councils in the region are selective, which they have a
right to be, about who comes in to be the VPSO because it has to
be someone who has somewhat of an understanding of their culture
and how they live and accepting of that. As the coordinator, he
added, he tends to hand pick who these people are going to be.
Housing is a major issue, he stressed. For example, in one of
the communities the best he can do is a studio apartment, which
creates a limitation to applicants who are single or have only a
significant other. He said fresh water is another issue, with
three of Chugachimiut's villages having had freshwater shortages
in the last three years and bottled water had to be sent in
until the problem was fixed. Urban amenities don't exist, he
continued. Essentially all that exists is the houses, the
school, the post office, and the tribal office. Two of the
villages don't have stores. Groceries must be ordered from
online and come in on the once- or twice-a-week plane. So, he
stated, it isn't an easy way of life, which gets back to why
subsistence becomes so important. The communities are not rich,
they have a limited amount of funding, they help as best they
can, which is why they rely so much on the VPSO program.
9:12:46 AM
MR. WALLNER addressed the topic of opportunities for the VPSO.
He reported that the present VPSO starting salary is $26.79 an
hour as compared to the public safety profession's statewide
mean average of $32-$34 an hour. He pointed out that while
$26.79 is decent pay for the community, there is the high cost
of living in the village. Being a VPSO, he added, is one of the
better jobs in the village for the most part. Regarding the 50
percent pool where 50 percent of the people are not from the
community, he explained that loyalty or tie to community does
not exist nearly as well. For example, he said, it's not
uncommon for someone to get trained and certified and then
another job offer comes from a larger community that is better
for the person and the person's family, which creates attrition.
MR. WALLNER stated that the VPSO is a perfect fit for the
community, and it was designed to work in the communities.
While law enforcement is the primary function of Alaska State
Troopers, he said, VPSOs are not only law enforcement but also
receive training in fighting fires, search and rescue, and as
emergency trauma technicians. Additionally, he continued, VPSOs
may serve as off-road Division of Motor Vehicle (DMV) license
examiners and lay vaccinators; provide welfare checks, animal
control, elder assistance, and emergency planning; and be
involved with school resource officers (SROs).
MR. WALLNER shared that he retired from the Alaska State
Troopers after 25 years of service. He said he first started
working with the VPSO Program in 1995 as an oversight out of St.
Mary's, and for the last nine years of his trooper career he was
the statewide coordinator for the VPSO Program.
9:19:54 AM
VIVIAN KORTHUIS, Chief Executive Officer, Association of Village
Council Presidents (AVCP), provided invited testimony during the
presentation on rural public safety. She stated she is Yupik
and a member of the Emmonak Tribe. She said public safety is
the number one priority for the tribes in the AVCP region. She
noted that AVCP is the largest tribal consortium in the nation,
with 56 federally recognized tribes as members. The region is
located on the Yukon-Kuskokwim (YK) Delta bordering the Yukon
River, the Kuskokwim River, and the Bering Sea coast. She
further noted that the AVCP region is about the same size as the
state of Washington and is an off-road region, meaning the only
way into the region is by flying or by barge in the summer. The
only way to travel between the 48 physical communities in the
region is by small plane, boat in the summer, or snow machine,
trails, or ice roads in the winter. The population is
approximately 26,000 people with a median age of 25.
MS. KORTHUIS stated that US Attorney General William Barr
visited Alaska in 2019 and met with tribes and tribal leaders
who shared their stories and recommendations with him regarding
public safety in rural Alaska. As a result, the Department of
Justice declared a law enforcement emergency in rural Alaska,
although [rural Alaskans] know that this public safety crisis
has existed for years. She reported that there are rates of
domestic violence and assault in the region's villages that are
10 times higher than the rest of the US. Most of the villages
only have access to part-time law enforcement, and some rural
communities, including the YK Delta, have no law enforcement at
all. The Alaska State Troopers are only able to respond to
serious felonies, she pointed out, and weather can delay
responses for hours, days, or even weeks. She said it is
unacceptable for [off-road communities] to not have the same
access to public safety as communities on the road system.
9:24:22 AM
MS. KORTHUIS spoke to AVCP's Public Safety Initiative. She
related that in 2016 AVCP's tribes determined public safety to
be the region's number one priority, and since then AVCP has
worked hard and strategically to address public safety. She
said groundwork was laid in 2017 and 2018 when AVCP assessed the
baseline of public safety in the region, which included
assessing all public safety facilities in the region and its
villages; meeting with tribes, local organizations, and state
and federal enforcement agencies; and strategic planning with
the state's VPSO tribal caucus. It was learned that a local law
enforcement presence was needed in every community, the region's
public safety buildings needed to be renovated or replaced,
access was needed to comprehensive training for law enforcement,
a sustained source of funding was needed, and clear tribal
authority and jurisdiction was needed. Public safety in the
AVCP region is basically absent, she stressed, and the region
needs help. Strategies to improve public safety must be
implemented at the tribal, state, and federal levels. She said
it is the state's responsibility to address the lack of public
safety head on.
MS. KORTHUIS expressed the strong support of AVCP and its tribes
for the VPSO Program because it is known that local law
enforcement in the community works. She stated that the VPSO
Program has faced several challenges in the past several years,
many of which reflect the national trends of law enforcement and
some of which are unique to the VPSO Program. The challenges
include difficulty in recruitment and retention, salaries below
market compared to other states and local law enforcement
positions, and the need for more flexibility to design programs
around regional needs, such as roving officers and flexible
schedules. She said positive changes are being seen with the
DPS Division of Administrative Services overseeing the program,
and that there has been more flexibility in using VPSO funding
to make improvements to public safety in the AVCP region.
However, she stressed, progress must continue in addressing the
issues that make it hard to recruit and retain VPSOs. She
pointed out that VPSOs respond to calls in communities that are
isolated and without backup and said VPSOs should be valued and
compensated equally with their urban counterparts. She further
stressed the need for continued and increased flexibility to use
funding to address actual public safety needs of the communities
that VPSOs serve. She said she wants to work towards having a
line of recruits outside the VPSO coordinator's door.
9:28:42 AM
MS. KORTHUIS discussed the topic of investment in rural Alaska
public safety infrastructure. She noted that one-third of all
Alaskans live in rural Alaska, yet the difference between the
investment in public safety infrastructure in rural Alaska and
urban or road system communities is night and day. She related
that most communities in the AVCP region do not have adequate
public safety buildings, holding cells, or available housing for
law enforcement officers. Tribes and village governments
struggle to hire part-time law enforcement, pay for equipment
and training, and maintain public safety buildings through a mix
of grant applications, fund raising, and donations. She
reported that in 2018 AVCP assessed the region's public safety
infrastructure and found that 80 percent of its communities
needed a public safety facility replaced, removed, renovated, or
a new building constructed. She said it was also found that 26
communities had no public safety housing available. She added
that AVCP partners with Yuut Elitnaurviat, the tribal training
organization that provides village police officer (VPO) and
tribal policy officer (TPO) training. She said AVCP recently
secured funds to pilot a training program that adds an
additional three weeks to the current two-week training course.
Meanwhile, Ms. Korthuis continued, road system communities often
enjoy state funded law enforcement whose officers have offices
and comprehensive training. Allocation of funds shows priority,
she stated, and right now public safety in rural Alaska does not
appear to be a priority.
MS. KORTHUIS urged that the State of Alaska meet its obligation
to keep rural Alaskans safe by thoroughly supporting the VPSO
Program and by investing in public safety infrastructure. She
further urged that the state work closely with tribes as
partners because they know the needs of their communities and
what strategies will work to improve public safety. She said
every village has a right hand and a left hand - a health aide
and a VPSO. Whenever there is an emergency or trauma the first
thing anyone does is call the health aide or VPSO. [Alaskans]
are lucky to have a health care infrastructure that supports the
health aides, she continued, but if a village does not have a
public safety presence, "it's like trying to help people with
one hand tied behind your back," which is not acceptable. She
stated that tribes in rural Alaska are not asking for anything
more or anything less than any other community in Alaska or the
US regarding public safety.
9:33:09 AM
JASON WILSON, Public Safety Manager, VPSO Program, Central
Council of Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, provided
invited testimony during the presentation on rural public
safety. He stated that the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida
Indian Tribes of Alaska ("Tlingit & Haida") loves the VPSO
Program. He said he has been the manager of this program for
roughly 16 years over which time he has seen many different
things and different directions. He noted he is Eagle Killer
Whale and stated that Tlingit & Haida is the largest tribe in
Alaska with over 32,000 enrolled citizens across the state,
nation, and world. He related that only a handful of Tlingit &
Haida's communities are connected to the road system, with most
accessible only by boat or plane. He explained that the VPSO
Program fills a critical need in those communities that don't
have direct access to Alaska State Troopers or other public
safety infrastructures. Tlingit & Haida runs the VPSO Program
for the Southeast Alaska region, he continued, and has officers
in the communities of Kake, Angoon, Pelican, Saxman, Hydaburg,
Thorne Bay, and Kasaan.
MR. WILSON pointed out that VPSOs do many things in addition to
law enforcement, such as: providing instruction in schools
about water safety, hunter safety, and how criminal
investigations are done; performing some DMV functions like
issuing [drivers] licenses and ensuring cars are registered;
responding to brown bears and wolves in the communities;
responding to fires; acting as emergency medical technicians
(EMTs); providing search and rescue; and acting as counselors.
He said the strength is that a VPSO is a part of the community
as well as a superhero in the community. Some VPSOs from
outside the community have even been adopted as members of the
tribe, which is a huge honor.
9:38:28 AM
MR. WILSON announced that Tlingit & Haida just recently filled
the vacancy in Hydaburg, and that there are two VPSOs in the
communities of Kake, Angoon, and Thorne Bay. He added that he
has applicants for the second VPSO position in the communities
of Saxman and Hydaburg.
MR. WILSON stated that there are currently about 52 VPSOs with
funding for about 68 this year, and at this time last year there
were only 33 VPSOs. Improvements have been made, he said, but
more are needed.
MR. WILSON addressed the challenge of recruitment and retention.
Regarding planning, he said Tlingit & Haida has shifted gears in
working with the state and other coordinators to create a
recruitment officer position in which the person would work
solely on filling positions throughout the entire program. Up
to this point, he explained, recruitment has been put on the
shoulders of the VPSO coordinators, which for certain
coordinators might not be a strength. He said a look is also
being taken at the possibility of finding more applicants by
tapping into "headhunters" who find people to fill big positions
as well as mid-level positions like the VPSO Program.
MR. WILSON related that a better job is now being done regarding
infrastructure by addressing it as a program; for example,
providing housing and public safety buildings in a community as
a program.
MR. WILSON stated that Ms. Moore's testimony truly shows the
importance and value of the VPSO Program in each community. He
thanked Commissioner Cockrell and said working with the
commissioner has been positive because the commissioner is open
to working with the program. He said the VPSO Program can be
made better, but it isn't broken. It faces challenges like any
other program, but the lenses on the program are different. The
best way to get better, he added, is by communicating better
with the state and the partnering organizations.
9:44:57 AM
CHAIR ZULKOSKY inquired about the need for greater reliability
in funding each year to support the public safety programs in
each region.
MS. KORTHUIS answered that fiscal consistency would ensure AVCP
could do appropriate planning, staffing, and budgeting on a
year-to-year basis for all the services needed in the region.
She said funding inconsistency is a challenge because AVCP is
then unable to plan appropriately to meet the needs of public
safety. This has been experienced over the last several years,
she added, and the goal is to bring back that consistency.
MR. WALLNER explained that when funding is granted it goes to
the [Department of Public Safety] and then to the statewide
office. The statewide office determines how much funding goes
to which organization; a routine practice every year. He
reiterated that two of Chugachimiut's four villages are
currently full and two are vacant. He said that for this fiscal
year Chugachimiut received funding for three VPSO positions,
creating the dilemma of not having the money for that fourth
position. It is common practice that funding for many other
needs for the program go neglected for the most part, he
related, and Chugachimiut is using the funding for the two
vacancies to accommodate equipment and other needs. Funding has
always been an issue, he stated, and since funding varies from
year-to-year Chugachimiut must make do with what it gets.
MR. WILSON stated that the responses of Ms. Korthuis and Mr.
Wallner have answered the question.
REPRESENTATIVE CRONK remarked that he looks forward to talking
to all the witnesses about the positive things and how to build
on them to make this the best program.
CHAIR ZULKOSKY thanked the witnesses and said their testimony
articulated how consequential the funding is of essential
services across the state.
9:51:06 AM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Special Committee on Tribal Affairs meeting was adjourned at
9:51 a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| Apay'uq Moore testimony 4-15-21.pdf |
HTRB 4/15/2021 8:00:00 AM |