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| An Alaska Territorial Police officer, circa
1954. The only law enforcement provided in Alaska from 1867,
when the U.S. "purchased" Alaska from Russia, until
1884 was from the military, which governed the territory in its
earliest years. After 1884, U.S. Marshals became a presence in
Alaska. The Alaska Territorial Legislature created the Alaska
Highway Patrol in 1941; however, highway patrolmen were not granted
police powers until 1945, after World War II, when they began
to be deputized as Special Deputies with the U.S. Marshals. It
was not until 1949 that the Territorial Legislature confered
non-federal police powers to highway patrol officers. In 1953, the Alaska Highway Patrol was succeeded by the Alaska Department of Territorial Police. Its creation made Alaska the only territory with the framework for a modern law enforcement system in place upon admission to statehood, which was granted to Alaska in 1959. In 1960, the agency became known as the Alaska State Police. The agency's name changed once more in 1967 to the Alaska State Troopers, the name it has held ever since. The Division of Alaska State Troopers, one of four divisions of the Alaska Department of Public Safety (DPS), is responsible for enforcement of all criminal and traffic laws of the State of Alaska, particularly in those areas with no local law enforcement agency. The Alaska State Troopers also manage the Village Public Safety Officer (VPSO) Program, serve warrants, transport prisoners, and conduct search-and-rescue operations. |
