July 2007 ADN Opinion
Tough job in the Bush
Help wanted: village police
It’s hard to be a cop in a small town, especially one you grew up in, said Alvin Brown, with son Wallace, 4, and daughter Alexis, 10, mid-June in Mountain Village. Brown, currently the Village Public Safety Officer, has worked in law enforcement 18 years. ( ERIK HILL / Anchorage Daily News)
------------------------------
(Begin theSam!! says: after 10, almost 11 months of OJT in theVillage!! theJan 2002 VPSO Class 29 start date came round and I went to Sitka for 2 months.
It was at this time that I met VPSO Alvin Brown, as he was in my class. He was a big guy back then, which is part of the reason why he was sent back home. He graduated theVPSO program at a later date. He's smaller now in thePhoto and his children are indeed happy to have such an good man to protect and provide for them.
But none of this VPSO class reTake set back, takes away from what he was and still is, one of those Outstanding Officers that espouse what qualities are needed in each Candidate for theProgram.
Did you know that Officer Brown was out shooting at theDump one day and an .22 bullet ricochet got him in the Leg?
an AST officer that was shooting with Brown at the time, laughed and made light of being hit. No harm done really. theNext moment theAST officer fired his weapon and was similarly "hit" from ricochet.
Just flesh wounds really, no harm done. Oh... and Don't laugh at someone when you're out there-Really!!, Don't.
And I too, can recall feeling and hearing an "Whizzing" sound now and then by my head as I too shot my weapons at theDump and way out on theVillage!! roads where theTrees are known to catch and Redirect flying bullets back to theShooter!!
Officer Brown used to salute me all of the time at theAcademy. I never knew why.
Even out in theVillage!! when I was VPSO, a few of theOlderMen whom were Veterans also saluted me when I'd walk by.
First of all this act is flattering, and yet embarassing. Cos I'm really modest.
But I write and point out things that give people an much different Impression of me. That's ok with me, because those that truly know me know that I'm not so bizarre as my writings. And I also write just to point out some things that I see as wrong.
And as for me being saluted all the time, you see, it is I that should have saluted such Stalwart Villagers as these; Officer Alvin Brown and theOtherMen in my Village that were sober and Working!!
For my time OutThere!! in theBush was a treasure, an memorable time that I will never forget.
I'm glad that this ADN publication came out. Because I was out there as an VPSO and knew some pitfalls and inherent weaknesses of theProgram.
And I knew that many things needed to be changed regarding theStatus of theParticipating Officers; fine Men and Women.
I have this to say though about being an alleged "2nd class Discriminatory substitute for real Police Officers";
Most Villagers and their allies in theCities cry foul because, in many ways they at one time or another contributed to theAlcoholImportation flow and they still do.
You need to totally support theProgram and it's Officers, accepting them as it is / as they are or else you do not.
This lashing out at thePeople that are tasked to protect you does no good without ALSO having some hard, definitive suggestions to help fix theProblems that you see.
As for me, when I read of such news regarding this lawsuit, it bothered me for a bit regarding theLabeling of me and other hardworking Officers that I knew and still Know.
theVPSO's are not ever and never were, 2nd class citizens. They were not ever-as a Whole- an discriminatory substitute for real police officers.
Though I have met at least 2 VPSO's that were totally clueless out in theVillage!! they are no longer VPSO's. But I have never met any of these Officers since then that I would worry about.
Understand that most of theNatives!! that contend against theVPSO's are themselves being racist and discriminatory in practice and it is an strong anti-White / antieGov't sentiment that is behind that Lawsuit.
Actually, most of theTroubleMakers, BootLeggers, their supporters and sympathisers in theVillage!! and in theCities want NO LawEnforcement out there. NONE!!
They want Whites out of theVillage!! and they want no accountability to theState, the very Entity that they depend upon for Federal and State & local dollars and for
the protection that they get!! but which they despise.
I had theOpportunity to get out of theVillage!! one week back in 2001, or 2002. I forget exactly.
But it was when I was VPSO for TCC, Tanana Chiefs Conference Inc (now LLC) and when I was stationed in Minto, AK.
The event for which I was brought into theCity for was theDedication of theAl Ketzler (sp??) Building just Kittie-corner from theTall river front HeadQuarters of TCC Inc.
I had been inside this AK building many times that first and 2nd year of my employment.
At the time, theTCC HealthAide (CHAP) program had offices in this building and I would visit theCHAP ladies.
An Director did give me an old CHAP manual to keep for myself, and I even borrowed an Child-Mannekin to take back to theVillage!! As Minto is on a driveable road system into Fairbanks.
I showed some VillageKidz!! theMannekin and we briefly covered CPR while we were swimming at theRiverfront boatLanding one summer.
So this AlKetzlerBldg was and hopefully still is an valuable asset to theTCC entity if it still houses worthwhile programs with Village purpose in mind.
At this Gathering / Dedication that I stood Security for, in theParking lot of theAK Bldg was an warm sunny day.
An tent was set up, 20ft wide, almost 50' long. Lots of VillageElders!! and other Important people sat in the shade and the rest of us stood around, wandered in and out of theEvent.
theProgram!! had the usual proNative speeches and humorous Roasting of all Honored Guests. LOL.
But one speaker got really fired up about TCC getting away from theState and getting away from White influence, White $ / money, Whites in general and getting back to the old days when no Whites were ever here!!
And everyone present applauded. *shrugs*
So it seems that even in this enlightened day and age of 2007, there still exists and thrives an Racist undercurrent behind many present dealings statewide and local.
Amongst Whites and Natives alike.
You just have to look and watch for them. After that weekend in theCity!! and guarding that Bldg Dedication event I stepped back just a bit in my VPSO dealings and looked even more closely at what I did and how others reacted to my enforcing of Village and State ordnances.
Anyway, I was an VPSO I loved it. And because I brought with me, many good qualities and much Blessings to theProgram when I went to theVillage!! I never did personally feel like 2nd class citizen.
I was just as important to theSafety!! of the good Villagers as any other Officer could be.
For I too, saw and recognized theBarrier between VPSO's and StateTroopers.
This "tolerate but don't decorate" mentality that theState in it's Whiteness had and still has.
Actually, I'm getting pissed off now, because of this ADN publication. When it's theState!! that should have been Including theVPSO's and VPO's in it's own QuarterlyPublication for theAST.
They dress us up at theAcademy, they Train us, but they don't support us much and slap our backs as needed after we go back to theVillage!!
The AST doesn't really accept us VPSO's & VPO's as equals (and that's part of the problem) but that's where my own qualities come in.
Because if you've had an exemplary life and bring goodness to theProgram, you don't need state support to thrive in theVillage doing your job.
I sound real Modest don't I?!, but I'm also honest and brave enough to write this. So far, I don't see any other AST or any other Police or quite frankly, Any other VPSO writing about what they see wrong in their respective lines of work and wanting to see Change!!
As I was saying, you just do your job and other people see and some even help you!!
Because I honestly would not have been successful as I was in Minto when was employed by TCC, as I was when I had various Villagers helping me.
And I am eternally grateful for such help. Some Villagers literally protected me by Gunpoint when they were my backup to some Violent flareups,
others literally kept me alive by passing along information to me about various events and certain people.
It helps though to have State support, but you don't need it. And thus I eventually armed myself quietly and carried discreetly and prepared myself just as much as any city Police to do more than theMisdemeanor work that VPSO's currently do.
Remember though that theVPSO program was created for theOfficers in theBush to be theEyes and Ears of theState Troopers. We were never really meant to BE AST.
But times have changed and inevitably, times will change and with change Must Come-CHANGE!!
theVPSO's need to be equally Paid and benefited as AST and other State-wide Police entity. And theVPSO's do need to be armed and equipped as such.
For it true that we are Unarmed in response.
We VPSO's show up at an Domestic Violence Event and tensions flare up even more at times, but we do theJob and do it alone.
For we can handle it. But many Villagers!! and their anti-VPSO supporters think that we can't handle it because they know that theState doesn't fully Sanction Us and equip us, fully ARM us and thus they don't really support or acknowledge us.
And this problem will NOT go away until theState does something about that.
Consider how City people will respond to Police if theCityPolice show up to Events "Unarmed". Watch credibility and respect just fly out theWindow!!
and another thing to, I'd bet that thePolice ranks would just be devestated because people would leave overnight if they were suddenly Unarmed, not allowed to openly carry and have No other Backup as often we VPSO's endure.
Because to some white folk here in theCity, being Police is just about having an comfortable existence and saving for retirement where they'll relax as millionaires Plus, and to me, that's not what Public Service is all about.
But to this Village conondrum, I say, that if any VPSO shows up with a full duty belt Including an Glock sideArm in full view and other lethal toys that Police and AST get to wear and if theVillagers!! know and realize that by just seeing such an display of State power in their Midst, that theDomestic Violence episodes and other events that happen in theVillage!! will start to drop.
It's often THAT simple, but so costly.
Did you know that each LEO's (Officer's) position in theCity carries with it an Big Insurance premium?! As of 2003 when I last checked, it was minimum $50K.
And that alone is just one reason that theState keeps theVPSO's openly Unarmed.
No Village too, wants to pay that much $ just for Insurance and Death benefits for theOfficer and his beneficiaries let alone Survivors and beneficiaries of the deceased criminal.
I have prior Military service training and Life experience to help me and that "in my eyes and heart" puts me level with my Armed counterparts in theCities.
I can't speak for other VPSO's more than this. And for now, I'm just glad to see that theVPSO's get more publicity. They need it.
As for me, my hairs getting longer (again!) and that is part of my Lakota heritage.
Is part of my civil rights and I'm not cutting it for an long time.
Because I'm finished with trying to get into theRacist and close-Minded AST program. And I'm through with applying to other Racist state entities.
Their help wanted signs are really just Go Away signs.
I can't even get into theNative hospital as Security!!
For when I once did my job effectively as an VPSO I made many enemies and those people passed my name onto their friends and relatives.
That sucks, but what's even better is that I took that VPSO experience and made something good from it. That is something that no one can take away from me.
Samuel L Flyinghorse, Hunkpapa Lakota, AK Public Safety at Large
Anchorage, AK
July 2007
End theSam!! says)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Published: July 28, 2007)
Alaska is having a rough time recruiting Village Public Safety Officers. Little wonder, when you consider the conditions:
Remote villages, family ties that can trump the law, unforgiving wilderness at the doorstep, high rates of alcohol abuse with all the violence and misery it causes, Alaskastate troopers sometimes a day or more away.
Think of Anchorage patrolled only by unarmed officers.
Think of trying to be the law in a small village where you're the outsider.
Think of how many people you know who could handle police work, diplomacy, firefighting, safety education, search and rescue, snowmachine mechanics and the right response to both perpetrator and victim of a violent crime, both of whom may be relatives.
What's amazing isn't that the state struggles to fill the ranks or the high turnover rate (40 percent, according to an Alaska Justice Center study published in 2000). What's amazing is the degree of success. Right now 48 of 51 positions are filled in Alaska villages. But as Maj. John Glick, deputy director of the Department of Public Safety, pointed out, that can change any time.
The state's 2008 capital budget includes two hopeful appropriations from federal funds. It has $2 million to train and equip VPSOs and another $2 million for VPSOs to fight bootlegging.
The key word, though, is "hopeful."
A lot has to happen before Bush residents will see more law enforcement.
In passing the state budget, Alaska lawmakers merely agreed to accept federal money that hasn't arrived yet. Ted Stevens is working on the $2 million for training and equipment. Alaska has to fill those last three state-funded VPSO slots before it can qualify for the other $2 million of federal money to fight bootlegging. With the federal money, the state could afford 80 VPSOs.
If the state could find them. That, as Maj. Glick said, is the "crux of the problem."
The problem is getting some attention.
Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan will go to Kotzebue next month to discuss improving the VPSO program. Among his ideas: creating uniform standards and a career advancement track for all three types of Bush law enforcement officers. It would allow VPSOs, tribal police officers and village police officers hired by local communities a way to upgrade their skills and eventually earn full trooper or police status.
State Sen. Donnie Olson will chair a VPSO task force, which will hold fact-finding meetings in Western Alaska and Kodiak this fall.
For all the difficulties -- or maybe because of all the difficulties -- the state's VPSO program needs state, federal and community support. When the program works, it puts respected, trusted officers on the ground in Alaska villages, officers who know the people and are comfortable in the culture. They can respond to emergencies -- or, better, prevent them.
Two years ago, some rural advocates lost a lawsuit that tried to force the state to put more troopers into small Bush communities. The suit contended VPSOs were a second-class, discriminatory substitute for real police officers.
The courts said it was not their job to second-guess the type or level of public safety protection.
However, the suit did make a good case for better law enforcement in the Bush. The $4 million for VPSOs could go a long way to help.
BOTTOM LINE: VPSO program needs support and reorganization -- but, most of all, a steady stream of good recruits.
Who's up? Who's Down?
EVEN Lisa Murkowski: Gives up her sweet deal with Bob Penney for Kenai riverfront property, but still insists she paid the going price. S-u-r-e. Bob didn't get rich by cutting ordinary suckers a break like that.
DOWN Don Young: Prostate surgery goes well, but feds start looking into criminal charges. He may get bit by a mink that's wearing a lawman's badge.
DOWN Ted Stevens: Offers hair-splitting defense of Veco help on Girdwood house: We paid all the bills we got. Unanswered question: Did Bill Allen hold on to some?
UP Alaska seniors: The check is on its way. Gov. Sarah signs senior benefits bill, after she had to call the Legislature into a special session to pass it. Take that, John Coghill.
DOWN Conoco Phillips: Second-quarter profits plunge because it won't play ball with strongman Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. Alaska's tax regime looks pretty good in comparison.
EVEN Marc Marlow: Well-connected developer seeks Anchorage tax break for another long-shot rehab project downtown. Maybe he can hire Vic Kohring again to help him get it.
UP Alaska National Guard: Most popular governor in the country visits unit in Kuwait. Former Miss Wasilla delivers a real morale boost.
EVEN Mat-Su: Valley crackdown makes headway against meth labs, but heroin use spikes upward. Pick your poison.
DOWN Alaska dieters: Even one diet soda a day is bad for you. Arghhh! Pass the spring water, please.
DOWN Reona Kobayashi: Japanese student gets robbed three different times during summer visit to Mat-Su. Three strikes like that, and we'd be outta there.
EVEN Maggie: Controversial local elephant still in the headlines, still in Anchorage. Isn't her 15 minutes of fame up yet?
Copyright © 2007 The Anchorage Daily News (www.adn.com)
Help wanted: village police
It’s hard to be a cop in a small town, especially one you grew up in, said Alvin Brown, with son Wallace, 4, and daughter Alexis, 10, mid-June in Mountain Village. Brown, currently the Village Public Safety Officer, has worked in law enforcement 18 years. ( ERIK HILL / Anchorage Daily News)
------------------------------
(Begin theSam!! says: after 10, almost 11 months of OJT in theVillage!! theJan 2002 VPSO Class 29 start date came round and I went to Sitka for 2 months.
It was at this time that I met VPSO Alvin Brown, as he was in my class. He was a big guy back then, which is part of the reason why he was sent back home. He graduated theVPSO program at a later date. He's smaller now in thePhoto and his children are indeed happy to have such an good man to protect and provide for them.
But none of this VPSO class reTake set back, takes away from what he was and still is, one of those Outstanding Officers that espouse what qualities are needed in each Candidate for theProgram.
Did you know that Officer Brown was out shooting at theDump one day and an .22 bullet ricochet got him in the Leg?
an AST officer that was shooting with Brown at the time, laughed and made light of being hit. No harm done really. theNext moment theAST officer fired his weapon and was similarly "hit" from ricochet.
Just flesh wounds really, no harm done. Oh... and Don't laugh at someone when you're out there-Really!!, Don't.
And I too, can recall feeling and hearing an "Whizzing" sound now and then by my head as I too shot my weapons at theDump and way out on theVillage!! roads where theTrees are known to catch and Redirect flying bullets back to theShooter!!
Officer Brown used to salute me all of the time at theAcademy. I never knew why.
Even out in theVillage!! when I was VPSO, a few of theOlderMen whom were Veterans also saluted me when I'd walk by.
First of all this act is flattering, and yet embarassing. Cos I'm really modest.
But I write and point out things that give people an much different Impression of me. That's ok with me, because those that truly know me know that I'm not so bizarre as my writings. And I also write just to point out some things that I see as wrong.
And as for me being saluted all the time, you see, it is I that should have saluted such Stalwart Villagers as these; Officer Alvin Brown and theOtherMen in my Village that were sober and Working!!
For my time OutThere!! in theBush was a treasure, an memorable time that I will never forget.
I'm glad that this ADN publication came out. Because I was out there as an VPSO and knew some pitfalls and inherent weaknesses of theProgram.
And I knew that many things needed to be changed regarding theStatus of theParticipating Officers; fine Men and Women.
I have this to say though about being an alleged "2nd class Discriminatory substitute for real Police Officers";
Most Villagers and their allies in theCities cry foul because, in many ways they at one time or another contributed to theAlcoholImportation flow and they still do.
You need to totally support theProgram and it's Officers, accepting them as it is / as they are or else you do not.
This lashing out at thePeople that are tasked to protect you does no good without ALSO having some hard, definitive suggestions to help fix theProblems that you see.
As for me, when I read of such news regarding this lawsuit, it bothered me for a bit regarding theLabeling of me and other hardworking Officers that I knew and still Know.
theVPSO's are not ever and never were, 2nd class citizens. They were not ever-as a Whole- an discriminatory substitute for real police officers.
Though I have met at least 2 VPSO's that were totally clueless out in theVillage!! they are no longer VPSO's. But I have never met any of these Officers since then that I would worry about.
Understand that most of theNatives!! that contend against theVPSO's are themselves being racist and discriminatory in practice and it is an strong anti-White / antieGov't sentiment that is behind that Lawsuit.
Actually, most of theTroubleMakers, BootLeggers, their supporters and sympathisers in theVillage!! and in theCities want NO LawEnforcement out there. NONE!!
They want Whites out of theVillage!! and they want no accountability to theState, the very Entity that they depend upon for Federal and State & local dollars and for
the protection that they get!! but which they despise.
I had theOpportunity to get out of theVillage!! one week back in 2001, or 2002. I forget exactly.
But it was when I was VPSO for TCC, Tanana Chiefs Conference Inc (now LLC) and when I was stationed in Minto, AK.
The event for which I was brought into theCity for was theDedication of theAl Ketzler (sp??) Building just Kittie-corner from theTall river front HeadQuarters of TCC Inc.
I had been inside this AK building many times that first and 2nd year of my employment.
At the time, theTCC HealthAide (CHAP) program had offices in this building and I would visit theCHAP ladies.
An Director did give me an old CHAP manual to keep for myself, and I even borrowed an Child-Mannekin to take back to theVillage!! As Minto is on a driveable road system into Fairbanks.
I showed some VillageKidz!! theMannekin and we briefly covered CPR while we were swimming at theRiverfront boatLanding one summer.
So this AlKetzlerBldg was and hopefully still is an valuable asset to theTCC entity if it still houses worthwhile programs with Village purpose in mind.
At this Gathering / Dedication that I stood Security for, in theParking lot of theAK Bldg was an warm sunny day.
An tent was set up, 20ft wide, almost 50' long. Lots of VillageElders!! and other Important people sat in the shade and the rest of us stood around, wandered in and out of theEvent.
theProgram!! had the usual proNative speeches and humorous Roasting of all Honored Guests. LOL.
But one speaker got really fired up about TCC getting away from theState and getting away from White influence, White $ / money, Whites in general and getting back to the old days when no Whites were ever here!!
And everyone present applauded. *shrugs*
So it seems that even in this enlightened day and age of 2007, there still exists and thrives an Racist undercurrent behind many present dealings statewide and local.
Amongst Whites and Natives alike.
You just have to look and watch for them. After that weekend in theCity!! and guarding that Bldg Dedication event I stepped back just a bit in my VPSO dealings and looked even more closely at what I did and how others reacted to my enforcing of Village and State ordnances.
Anyway, I was an VPSO I loved it. And because I brought with me, many good qualities and much Blessings to theProgram when I went to theVillage!! I never did personally feel like 2nd class citizen.
I was just as important to theSafety!! of the good Villagers as any other Officer could be.
For I too, saw and recognized theBarrier between VPSO's and StateTroopers.
This "tolerate but don't decorate" mentality that theState in it's Whiteness had and still has.
Actually, I'm getting pissed off now, because of this ADN publication. When it's theState!! that should have been Including theVPSO's and VPO's in it's own QuarterlyPublication for theAST.
They dress us up at theAcademy, they Train us, but they don't support us much and slap our backs as needed after we go back to theVillage!!
The AST doesn't really accept us VPSO's & VPO's as equals (and that's part of the problem) but that's where my own qualities come in.
Because if you've had an exemplary life and bring goodness to theProgram, you don't need state support to thrive in theVillage doing your job.
I sound real Modest don't I?!, but I'm also honest and brave enough to write this. So far, I don't see any other AST or any other Police or quite frankly, Any other VPSO writing about what they see wrong in their respective lines of work and wanting to see Change!!
As I was saying, you just do your job and other people see and some even help you!!
Because I honestly would not have been successful as I was in Minto when was employed by TCC, as I was when I had various Villagers helping me.
And I am eternally grateful for such help. Some Villagers literally protected me by Gunpoint when they were my backup to some Violent flareups,
others literally kept me alive by passing along information to me about various events and certain people.
It helps though to have State support, but you don't need it. And thus I eventually armed myself quietly and carried discreetly and prepared myself just as much as any city Police to do more than theMisdemeanor work that VPSO's currently do.
Remember though that theVPSO program was created for theOfficers in theBush to be theEyes and Ears of theState Troopers. We were never really meant to BE AST.
But times have changed and inevitably, times will change and with change Must Come-CHANGE!!
theVPSO's need to be equally Paid and benefited as AST and other State-wide Police entity. And theVPSO's do need to be armed and equipped as such.
For it true that we are Unarmed in response.
We VPSO's show up at an Domestic Violence Event and tensions flare up even more at times, but we do theJob and do it alone.
For we can handle it. But many Villagers!! and their anti-VPSO supporters think that we can't handle it because they know that theState doesn't fully Sanction Us and equip us, fully ARM us and thus they don't really support or acknowledge us.
And this problem will NOT go away until theState does something about that.
Consider how City people will respond to Police if theCityPolice show up to Events "Unarmed". Watch credibility and respect just fly out theWindow!!
and another thing to, I'd bet that thePolice ranks would just be devestated because people would leave overnight if they were suddenly Unarmed, not allowed to openly carry and have No other Backup as often we VPSO's endure.
Because to some white folk here in theCity, being Police is just about having an comfortable existence and saving for retirement where they'll relax as millionaires Plus, and to me, that's not what Public Service is all about.
But to this Village conondrum, I say, that if any VPSO shows up with a full duty belt Including an Glock sideArm in full view and other lethal toys that Police and AST get to wear and if theVillagers!! know and realize that by just seeing such an display of State power in their Midst, that theDomestic Violence episodes and other events that happen in theVillage!! will start to drop.
It's often THAT simple, but so costly.
Did you know that each LEO's (Officer's) position in theCity carries with it an Big Insurance premium?! As of 2003 when I last checked, it was minimum $50K.
And that alone is just one reason that theState keeps theVPSO's openly Unarmed.
No Village too, wants to pay that much $ just for Insurance and Death benefits for theOfficer and his beneficiaries let alone Survivors and beneficiaries of the deceased criminal.
I have prior Military service training and Life experience to help me and that "in my eyes and heart" puts me level with my Armed counterparts in theCities.
I can't speak for other VPSO's more than this. And for now, I'm just glad to see that theVPSO's get more publicity. They need it.
As for me, my hairs getting longer (again!) and that is part of my Lakota heritage.
Is part of my civil rights and I'm not cutting it for an long time.
Because I'm finished with trying to get into theRacist and close-Minded AST program. And I'm through with applying to other Racist state entities.
Their help wanted signs are really just Go Away signs.
I can't even get into theNative hospital as Security!!
For when I once did my job effectively as an VPSO I made many enemies and those people passed my name onto their friends and relatives.
That sucks, but what's even better is that I took that VPSO experience and made something good from it. That is something that no one can take away from me.
Samuel L Flyinghorse, Hunkpapa Lakota, AK Public Safety at Large
Anchorage, AK
July 2007
End theSam!! says)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Published: July 28, 2007)
Alaska is having a rough time recruiting Village Public Safety Officers. Little wonder, when you consider the conditions:
Remote villages, family ties that can trump the law, unforgiving wilderness at the doorstep, high rates of alcohol abuse with all the violence and misery it causes, Alaskastate troopers sometimes a day or more away.
Think of Anchorage patrolled only by unarmed officers.
Think of trying to be the law in a small village where you're the outsider.
Think of how many people you know who could handle police work, diplomacy, firefighting, safety education, search and rescue, snowmachine mechanics and the right response to both perpetrator and victim of a violent crime, both of whom may be relatives.
What's amazing isn't that the state struggles to fill the ranks or the high turnover rate (40 percent, according to an Alaska Justice Center study published in 2000). What's amazing is the degree of success. Right now 48 of 51 positions are filled in Alaska villages. But as Maj. John Glick, deputy director of the Department of Public Safety, pointed out, that can change any time.
The state's 2008 capital budget includes two hopeful appropriations from federal funds. It has $2 million to train and equip VPSOs and another $2 million for VPSOs to fight bootlegging.
The key word, though, is "hopeful."
A lot has to happen before Bush residents will see more law enforcement.
In passing the state budget, Alaska lawmakers merely agreed to accept federal money that hasn't arrived yet. Ted Stevens is working on the $2 million for training and equipment. Alaska has to fill those last three state-funded VPSO slots before it can qualify for the other $2 million of federal money to fight bootlegging. With the federal money, the state could afford 80 VPSOs.
If the state could find them. That, as Maj. Glick said, is the "crux of the problem."
The problem is getting some attention.
Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan will go to Kotzebue next month to discuss improving the VPSO program. Among his ideas: creating uniform standards and a career advancement track for all three types of Bush law enforcement officers. It would allow VPSOs, tribal police officers and village police officers hired by local communities a way to upgrade their skills and eventually earn full trooper or police status.
State Sen. Donnie Olson will chair a VPSO task force, which will hold fact-finding meetings in Western Alaska and Kodiak this fall.
For all the difficulties -- or maybe because of all the difficulties -- the state's VPSO program needs state, federal and community support. When the program works, it puts respected, trusted officers on the ground in Alaska villages, officers who know the people and are comfortable in the culture. They can respond to emergencies -- or, better, prevent them.
Two years ago, some rural advocates lost a lawsuit that tried to force the state to put more troopers into small Bush communities. The suit contended VPSOs were a second-class, discriminatory substitute for real police officers.
The courts said it was not their job to second-guess the type or level of public safety protection.
However, the suit did make a good case for better law enforcement in the Bush. The $4 million for VPSOs could go a long way to help.
BOTTOM LINE: VPSO program needs support and reorganization -- but, most of all, a steady stream of good recruits.
Who's up? Who's Down?
EVEN Lisa Murkowski: Gives up her sweet deal with Bob Penney for Kenai riverfront property, but still insists she paid the going price. S-u-r-e. Bob didn't get rich by cutting ordinary suckers a break like that.
DOWN Don Young: Prostate surgery goes well, but feds start looking into criminal charges. He may get bit by a mink that's wearing a lawman's badge.
DOWN Ted Stevens: Offers hair-splitting defense of Veco help on Girdwood house: We paid all the bills we got. Unanswered question: Did Bill Allen hold on to some?
UP Alaska seniors: The check is on its way. Gov. Sarah signs senior benefits bill, after she had to call the Legislature into a special session to pass it. Take that, John Coghill.
DOWN Conoco Phillips: Second-quarter profits plunge because it won't play ball with strongman Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. Alaska's tax regime looks pretty good in comparison.
EVEN Marc Marlow: Well-connected developer seeks Anchorage tax break for another long-shot rehab project downtown. Maybe he can hire Vic Kohring again to help him get it.
UP Alaska National Guard: Most popular governor in the country visits unit in Kuwait. Former Miss Wasilla delivers a real morale boost.
EVEN Mat-Su: Valley crackdown makes headway against meth labs, but heroin use spikes upward. Pick your poison.
DOWN Alaska dieters: Even one diet soda a day is bad for you. Arghhh! Pass the spring water, please.
DOWN Reona Kobayashi: Japanese student gets robbed three different times during summer visit to Mat-Su. Three strikes like that, and we'd be outta there.
EVEN Maggie: Controversial local elephant still in the headlines, still in Anchorage. Isn't her 15 minutes of fame up yet?
Copyright © 2007 The Anchorage Daily News (www.adn.com)
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