The Alaska Department of Public Safety is a law enforcement agency

Law enforcement agency

In North American English, a law enforcement agency is a government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.Outside North America, such organizations are called police services. In North America, some of these services are called police while others have other names In North American...

 with its usual focus being the protection of life, property and wildlife resources in the state of Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

The Alaska Department of Public Safety is under the direction of Commissioner Joseph A. Masters.

Alaska DPS personnel enforce laws related to criminal statutes, traffic, wildlife, and fire. The Alaska DPS also performs search and rescue, court services and maintains criminal justice records.

Divisions

DPS has five divisions:

• Division of Administrative Services
• Division of Alaska State Troopers
  Alaska State Troopers
  The Division of Alaska State Troopers is the state police agency of Alaska. It is a division of the Alaska Department of Public Safety . The Alaska State Troopers are a full service law enforcement agency and handle both traffic and criminal law enforcement...
  
  
• Division of Fire and Life Safety
• Division of Statewide Services
• Division of Alaska Wildlife Troopers

DPS also administers:

• the Alaska Police Standards Council
• the Alaska Fire Standards Council
• the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board
• the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault
• the Alaska Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory

Unique feature

Unlike DPS agencies in many other states, due to the vast area of Alaska and limited local enforcement agencies, Alaska's DPS is the primary law enforcement and public safety organization for most of the state. The women and men of DPS provide service in conditions not usually found in many other parts of the country.

See also

• Alaska Sex Offender/Child Kidnapper Registry

• List of law enforcement agencies in Alaska

External links

• Alaska Department of Public Safety
• Alaska State Troopers
• Fraternal Order of Alaska State Troopers
• Alaska State Troopers Museum at ExploreNorth (with photographs)
• Alaska State Troopers on National Geographic Channel (with video)