Palin unveils new public safety plan for Alaska
Published Saturday, July 19, 2008
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Stumble It!ANCHORAGE -- Gov. Sarah Palin on Saturday identified her "new direction" for the Department of Public Safety.
In a press release, Palin said she will direct Public Safety Commissioner Chuck Kopp to work cooperatively with state agencies, the military and other entities to expand the pool of applicants to fill vacant Alaska State Trooper positions.
She also directed Kopp to form a plan to deal with rural crime.
Kopp said he would bring a balanced managerial and leadership perspective to the Department of Public Safety.
"I will help form and then carry out the policy set forth by the Office of the Governor and meet the mission and needs of the department," he said.
The announcement came a day after Kopp's predecessor, Walt Monegan, commented publicly on why he may have been suddenly dismissed July 11.
Monegan, a former Anchorage chief of police, said he felt pressure from Palin administration officials and family members to fire a Palmer Alaska State Trooper, Mike Wooten, who had been involved in a bitter child custody battle with Palin's sister.
Monegan said he took no action to dismiss Trooper Wooten, and upon learning that allegations of drunken driving, illegal hunting, child abuse and threats to Palin family members had been investigated internally, did not open another formal investigation.
Monegan told the Anchorage Daily News he remains unsure of why he was fired but the Wooten affair could have been part of it.
"I don't know that it's all of it. ... I worked at the pleasure of the governor," he said.
Palin has had little comment on why Monegan was dismissed, saying only that she wanted to move in a new direction and that the department could be better served under new management.
She replaced Monegan with Kopp, an 18-year veteran of the Kenai Police Department and until Tuesday, its chief.
Palin said her public safety plan calls for efficiently using trooper resources and filling vacancies, possibly by reclassifying existing open trooper job positions. For example, by hiring specifically for court service officers or investigative support positions, she said, the jobs may be more easily filled.
The plan calls for a comprehensive review of alcohol and drug abuse and crime, particularly in rural Alaska, and possibly more resources directed at alcohol and drug interdiction.
Other highlights of the public safety plan including:
— A recruiting effort focused on returning National Guard troops and other military service members, VPSOs and Alaska Natives.
— Increase training for troopers and village public safety officers.
— Legislation that will slow the flow of alcohol to rural Alaska, such as a reduction in the amount that can be shipped by written orders into rural Alaska.
Community Discussion
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This is kinda weird, shouldn't she be making the requirements more restrictive so we don't wind up w/another trooper like her ex-brother in law? Or maybe it has more to do with candidates being eligible for hire even if their prior employer had to reassign a subordinate to preclude additional sexual harassment complaints?
This is a "new" direction? I smell cover up...
Hum...Interesting considering I know of several Air Guard Security Force members...myself included who have applied for the troopers and got turn down with just a 30 second phone call and have decided to go to the City Level to become cops, or working with Active Duty Air Force Cops because our training, (tasers, batons, handcuffing, firearms) is not certified by the state.
Traditionally, less than 1% of all applicants that apply make it through training to become full troopers. Some will always be more qualified than others. Some may be qualified but just don't have a certain something that the department is looking for. Many (many, many) are disqualified during the background check. Heck, I know a former marine that they flat out told him he didn't get hired because of the answers his then-fiance gave during the back ground check.
I don't think dropping the standards is a great way to go about filling empty positions, though.
aktreefrog,
I am not saying lower the standards...What the DPS should do is tell the applicant why they didn't get hired...I personally would re-apply again if they say "Well you need to improve on your PT, or you need to work on lowering your debt, or your only allowed one loan, or you had something in your poly graph that we had a question about." The thing that AK hurts with is they take applicants out of state. When I tested there were at least four applicants who were from areas like New York and other states, and I remember hearing once about jobs for Alaskan's...yet those who stay have to compete with those from other states who have never been up here except to apply for AST's.
We need to improve pay and benifits for troopers to help in not only recruiting, but keeping those quality officers hired in place. Less turn over higher quality recruits equals better served and protected public. I pray there is no cover up but lets let the facts tell the story.
This is a "New Direction"???? Looks like the same Direction to me. What a Crock! Who does she think she's fooling?
"What the DPS should do is tell the applicant why they didn't get hired."
SFCop while I agree with what your saying, they generally only have a few temporary workers (normally retired troopers) to do all the leg work in the hiring process. I know that it is not unusual for an academy to have over 2000 applicants. Generally less than 20 recruits are sent to Sitka.
It is alot of manpower hours, money and time to call 2000 people and tell them why they were not hired. I could definately see how some of those conversations would go "gee, we didn't hire you because you have 120k in consumer debt, 500 credit scores and oh, yeah you have a previous drug conviction on your record....."
I know when I graduated college I spent 7 months and sent out dozens of resumes trying to find a job. I don't think I can name a single time when I got a phone call telling me WHY I didn't get a job that (at least in my mind) I was qualified for. Normally any notification I got was of the "thank you for your interest, we had many qualified candidates" form letter variety. Many more times I heard nothing and was just left hanging.
It is not wise to tell applicants why they weren't hired. You could easily end up in court.
We got plenty of laws on the books meant to solve the bush alcohol & drug problems. We have thrown law enforcement dollars at this problem and we still have a problem? The solution ain't more laws. Time for the bush to start enforcing their own laws in their own bush!
If you vote yourself a dry village then vote yourself the funds to enforce it and then enforce it. Stop laying the fault the costs on non-bush folks and start arresting and jailing your neighbors who break your laws. You don't need state troopers to do this. You need to get off your traditional bush whining butts and adjust your bush culture to deal with your own specific problem in your own specific bush!
We already decreased the amount of alcohol allowed to be shipped to the bush so decreasing it more will do.......what? Some times we don't need new direction. Many times we simply need to follow directions even if they lead us to the south end of a northbound moose!
The governor is doing fine. She has no responsibility to declare reasons for personnel changes, and any business owner knows that you need to never announce reasons for firing lest you open yourself up to lawsuits. I hope Mr. Monegan can make a big difference in rural Alaska. I know that's where his heart is, and he is a part of the people. They will respect him. I wish him the success he hopes for, and that the governor hopes for him.
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