Village Public Safety Officer (VPSO)

Summary:
This is a non-exempt, full-time position dependent on funding from the State of Alaska for the Village Public Safety Officer (VPSO) program. Under the direct supervision of the VPSO Coordinator, the community VPSO shall provide public safety services including the enforcement of state laws and local ordinances, participation in the development and emergency response to fire, medical emergencies, search & rescue, and participation in educational activities as related to public safety. The VPSO shall work closely with and report to the Village Public Safety Officer Program Manager, the local village council, and the Alaska State Troopers.


Major Responsibilities:
• Enforcement of the laws of the State of Alaska, exclusive of fish and wildlife violations.
• Enforcement of local ordinances adopted by the Alaska Court System and posted on the Uniform Minor Offense table.
• Participate in civil diversion of criminal charges to Tribal Courts, in accordance with Alaska Department of Law agreements.
• Utilize community policing and crime prevention techniques.
• Respond to calls for service.
• Conduct investigations.
• Actively involved in the local fire department, inclusive of operation, general maintenance, training, equipment, prevention, awareness, enforcement of fire safety measures, and elimination of fire hazards.
• Respond to medical emergencies and/or assist Community Health Aides (CHA) / itinerant medical professionals in the performance of their duties, as needed.
• Act as primary incident commander in all search and rescue operations.
• Promote and be involved in educational activities as related to public safety, inclusive of training for the community.
• Assist the Alaska Department of Corrections with the management and supervision of probationers and parolees residing in the community.
• Obtain and maintain VPSO and Emergency Trauma Technician (ETT) certifications.

Daily activities and duties of the VPSO will be determined by the Village Public Safety Officer Program Manager in conjunction with the local village council and Alaska State Troopers. These activities and duties may include but are not limited to:
• Patrol community roads, waterfronts, facilities, and property, vigilant for public safety concerns and suspicious activity.
• Enforcement of curfew hours.
• Transport and/or guard prisoners, as required.
• Serve process as assigned by the Alaska State Troopers.
• Act as lay vaccinator, administering rabies and other vaccines to household animals, if qualified.
• On-call 24 hours per day for response to emergencies.
• Protect VPSO Program integrity and maintain client confidentiality with regard to investigative matters.
• Abide by Chugachmiut policies and procedures.
• Comply with the direction and guidance of the Alaska State Troopers VPSO Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) manual.
• Maintain office administration.
• Promote community-wide disaster preparedness.
• Other duties as assigned by the VPSO Program Manager.

The VPSO is required to write, complete, and submit all incident reports as follows:
• File all incident reports with the Alaska State Troopers, adhering to required time constraints.
• Maintain a notebook that outlines daily activity for each duty day.
• Attend a weekly meeting with the Village Council representative and provide oral and/or written updates on activities and issues.
• Present monthly and quarterly written and/or oral reports to the village council and the VPSO Program Manager.

Education Requirements:
• Meet basic standards for Village Public Safety Officers as established by the Alaska Police Standards Council.
• 21 years of age or older.
• Citizen of the United States or a resident alien who has demonstrated an intent to become a citizen of the United States.
• Has a high school diploma or equivalent, or has passed a General Education Development (GED) test.
• Is of good moral character.
• Prior to attending a basic training program under 13 AAC 96.100, certified by a physician licensed in Alaska, on a medical record form supplied by the Alaska State Troopers, to:
o Be free from any physical, mental, emotional, visual or hearing condition which would adversely affect performance as a village public safety officer.
o Have normal color discrimination, normal binocular coordination, normal peripheral vision, and corrected visual acuity of 20/30 or better in each eye.
A. Has not been convicted, by a civilian court of this state, the United States, or another state or territory, or by a military court, of one of more of the following offenses, or of an offense with substantially similar elements to such an offense under Alaska law.
• A felony.
• A misdemeanor offense within five years of date of hire.
• A misdemeanor involving dishonesty or moral turpitude.
• A misdemeanor assault, within the past ten years, against a family member, former family member, member of household or former member of household, or violation of a domestic violence restraining order.
• Two or more offenses of driving while intoxicated.
B. Has not:
o Illegally manufactured, transported, or delivered a controlled substance other than marijuana during the ten years immediately before the date of hire, unless the person was under the age of 21 at the time of using the controlled substance.
o Illegally manufacture, transported, or delivered an alcoholic beverage in violation of a local option under AS 04.11, or a municipal ordinance.
o Used marijuana within one year before the date of hire.
• Has not been denied village public safety officer certification, nor is that certification in revoked status.
• Has not been discharged, asked to resign, or resigned in place of discharge, from employment as a village public safety officer, a village police officer, or a police officer position, for cause, in this state or any other state.


Hours of Work:
Hours of work are Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with one hour for lunch. Chugachmiut maintains a drug and alcohol-free and/non-smoking work environment. Requires being on-call.

Two shift options available:

• Full-time, 52 weeks per year (requires willingness to relocate to/live in Port Graham), or
• 2-weeks on, 2-weeks off rotating shift (requires staying in the community during on shift times)