The Village Public Safety Officer (VPSO) program provides rural Alaskan communities with public safety support services.
In communities associated with the program, citizens receive immediate response to emergencies without delays caused by weather or distance. VPSO work closely with Alaska State Troopers, and provide emergency medical response, search and rescue operations, fire prevention and suppression, disaster preparedness and response, public safety education, and community policing.
A VPSO is generally the first to respond to many calls for help from community members; hence their motto, "First Responders‐Last Frontier".
Funding for the VPSO Program is provided by the Alaska legislature to the Department of Public Safety (DPS) under Alakas Statute (AS) §18.65.670-688 and Alaska Administrative Code 13 AAC Chapter 96. These laws and regulations provide the guidelines on the administration of the program.
The Department of Public Safety proposes to adopt regulation changes in 13 AAC.96.010 – 13 AAC.96.900 of the Alaska Administrative Code, dealing with Village Public Safety Officer program. The revision of the governing statute updated the size of eligible communities, clarified the relationship between the Department of Public Safety and potential grantees. The purpose of the regulation change is to correctly align the regulations to the new governing statute by removing language inconsistent with adopted statutes and removing regulations which now duplicate some of the new statutes.
Proposed Regulation Changes
You may comment on the proposed regulation changes, including the potential costs to private persons of complying with the proposed changes, by submitting written comments to Joel Hard at 5700 E. Tudor Road, Anchorage, AK 99507. Additionally, the Department of Public Safety will accept comments by facsimile at 907-269-5079 and by electronic mail at joel.hard@alaska.gov. Comments may also be submitted through the Alaska Online Public Notice System by accessing this notice on the system and using the comment link. The comments must be received not later than 4:30 p.m. on October 1, 2023.
You may submit written questions relevant to the proposed action to Joel Hard by electronic mail at joel.hard@alaska.gov, or in person or by US mail to 5700 E. Tudor Road, Anchorage, AK 99507. The questions must be received at least 10 days before the end of the public comment period. The Department of Public Safety will aggregate its response to substantially similar questions and make the questions and responses available on the Alaska Online Public Notice System.
If you are a person with a disability who needs a special accommodation in order to participate in this process, please contact Joel Hard at joel.hard@alaska.gov and 907-269-6531 not later than September 25, 2023, to ensure that any necessary accommodation can be provided.