Qualifications to become a VPSO

18.65.672. Village public safety officer qualifications

1. A grant recipient may employ a person as a village public safety officer if the individual
   1. is at least 21 years of age;
   2. is a citizen of the United States or a resident alien;
   3. is of good moral character;
   4. has obtained a high school diploma or a general education development diploma or its equivalent;
   5. satisfies the physical requirements established in regulation by the department;
   6. has not been previously convicted
      1. of a felony;
      2. of a sex offense as defined in AS 12.63.100;
      3. of a misdemeanor crime involving domestic violence unless at least 10 years have passed since the date of the conviction, the conviction was not for an offense against an intimate partner, spouse, child, or parent, and the department grants a waiver allowing the individual to access the criminal justice information system;
      4. of a misdemeanor if less than five years have elapsed since the individual's date of conviction for the offense;
      5. two or more times of
         1. misdemeanor operating a vehicle, aircraft, or watercraft while under the influence of an alcoholic beverage, inhalant, or controlled substance under AS 28.35.030;
         2. misdemeanor refusal to submit to a chemical test under AS 28.35.032; or
         3. a combination of the offenses in (i) and (ii) of this subparagraph;
      6. of manufacturing, transporting, or delivering an alcoholic in violation of a local option under AS 04.11 or a municipal ordinance or a controlled substance, unless at least 10 years have elapsed; or
      7. of possession of a controlled substance as defined in AS 11.71.900, other than marijuana, unless the individual was under 21 years of age at the time of the possession and the possession occurred more than 10 years before the date of hire;
   7. has not been denied a village public safety officer certification or had a certification revoked; and
   8. has not been denied police officer certification, had a certificate revoked, or surrendered a certificate in this state or another jurisdiction.
2. A grant recipient may not use grant money to employ a village public safety officer for a period of more than 24 months unless the officer obtains a village public safety officer certificate from the department under AS 18.65.682. Upon written application from a grant recipient, the department may, in its discretion, extend this period up to six months to permit the officer to complete the training required under AS 18.65.676, if the officer is unable to do so in the first 24 months of employment because of an illness, injury, or emergency.
3. In this section,
   1. "good moral character" means the absence of acts or conduct that would cause a reasonable person to have substantial doubts about an individual's honesty, fairness, and respect for the rights of others and for the laws of this state and the United States; for purposes of this section, a determination of lack of good moral character may be based on a consideration of all aspects of a person's character;
   2. "previously convicted" means having been convicted of a crime described in (a) of this section or a law or ordinance of another jurisdiction with elements similar to the crimes listed in (a) of this section; a conviction for which the person received a suspended entry of judgment, suspended imposition of sentence, expungement, or pardon is a conviction for purposes of this section, unless the conviction was for a misdemeanor crime committed by the individual when the individual was under 21 years of age.

1. Before employing an individual as a village public safety officer, a grant recipient shall
   1. submit to the commissioner the individual's
      1. completed application and personal and medical history, on forms prepared by the department;
      2. proof of age, citizenship status, and education; and
      3. fingerprints, the fees required by the department under AS 12.62.160 for criminal justice information and a national criminal history record check, and other information sufficient to complete a background check consisting of a fingerprint check of national criminal records and criminal records of the state or states in which the individual has resided for the past 10 years; the department shall conduct a criminal justice information and national criminal history record check under AS 12.62;
   2. review the criminal justice information and national criminal history record check completed by the department; and
   3. review the results of the individual's physical examination and physician certification.
2. Personnel and training information that the department or a grant recipient receives about a village public safety officer is confidential and available only for review by a grant recipient, the department, or that officer. A village public safety officer or an individual who applies for employment as a village public safety officer may not review information that another individual supplied with the understanding that the information or its source would remain confidential, unless the information serves as the basis for a decision to deny or revoke a certificate under AS 18.65.684.