The State of Alaska is actively recruiting for the Spring Trooper academy, and as of last week has six new recruits who have competed all testing, and 18 who have completed all testing and passed the polygraph testing. Those 18 still need to pass the psychological and medical exams.
For the “B cycle” for the Spring academy, which included the $20,000 hiring bonus offer, the Alaska Department of Public Safety now has 28 recruits who have qualified for testing in January, with over 50 that are still working through the background investigation process and if passed will be invited to test in January.
“Our recruitment team is confident that we will have at least 30 Alaska State Trooper recruits in the Spring academy in February, the most significant number of trooper recruits entering the academy in many years,” a source in the department said today.
The department’s recruitment team is also recruiting for the Fall 2022 academy. The $20,000 hiring bonus that the governor authorized in August 2021 is drawing in more potential applicants.
The recruitment team has especially focused on areas of the Northwest where anti-police attitudes have driven away officers. The team had a two-day recruitment event in Seattle-Tacoma in early November, and the governor sent a letter to potential applicants to let them know that he supports law enforcement professionals. Some from Seattle and Portland are now taking a look north, as those states are mandating vaccines. The Washington State Patrol lost 127 professionals due to the Gov. Inslee’s vaccine mandate.
“Our recruiters are constantly asked by potential lateral recruits about the attitude towards law enforcement in Alaska, and they are able to report that our governor, many legislators and other state leaders, and the public in general, proudly support law enforcement in the state,” the DPS source told Must Read Alaska.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy has been working to rebuild the public safety workforce, which has seen many retirements in the past few years. There were about 60 unfilled positions for Troopers around the state earlier this year, but in November, 25 men and women graduated from academy in Sitka.
