(ANCHORAGE, Alaska) – In lieu of the State’s fiscal realities, the Division of Alaska State Troopers lacks the resources to provide any level of patrol coverage inside a municipality with police powers and a fully functioning police department. In early 2017, AST intends to end all law enforcement services within the boundaries of the Municipality of Anchorage, to include the stretch of the Seward Highway ending at milepost 75.

Troopers from AST’s Bureau of Highway Patrol will continue to conduct traffic enforcement along the Seward Highway and handle motor vehicle collisions during shift hours. BHP troopers will not be available outside of their regular shift hours to provide backup support.

Girdwood, being within the boundaries of the Municipality of Anchorage, is now serviced by the Whittier Police Department pursuant to its contract with the municipality.

In late October, AST provided a letter to the Municipality of Anchorage outlining the upcoming change and also discussed which agency has the primary responsibility for providing backup to Whittier PD in an emergency and also discussed the routing of 911 calls from the Girdwood area if the Whittier PD cannot be contacted.

AST is confident the Municipality can capably address these matters, however, no response has been provided.[xyz-ihs snippet=”Adsense-responsive”]

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