FBI-Alaska Law Enforcement Cooperation

Alaska State Troopers

Alaska Law Enforcement Structure

Alaska State Troopers are unique among state police agencies because Alaska has no counties, therefore no county police or sheriffs, in its constitution, the troopers also handle civil papers and mental health custody orders and serve as police through most of rural Alaska. With jurisdiction across all 663,268 square miles (1,717,856 square kilometres) of Alaska, Alaskan state troopers are the most geographically extended law enforcement officers within the United States, apart from federal officers (Wikipedia.)

The state has only about 1,300 full-time sworn law enforcement officers patrol a state 1/5th the size of the entire Lower 48 , including:

• About 300 Alaska State Troopers

• Almost 300 officers with Anchorage Police Department

• Small municipal agencies in cities like Juneau and Fairbanks

• Village Public Safety Officers (VPSOs) in remote communities

FBI-Alaska Law Enforcement Cooperation

FBI Anchorage Field Office has been operating since the early 1900s and handles many investigations involving Indian lands, fugitives, land fraud, wildlife management crimes, political corruption, and some property and violent crimes that state or local law enforcement would have handled in other jurisdictions.

Joint Task Forces Operating in Alaska:

1. Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) - In early 2002, it stood up a Joint Terrorism Task Force and began to strengthen its efforts to collect, analyze, and share intelligence on criminal and national security threats across the Bureau and with its many partners.

2. Alaska Health Care Fraud Task Force - a partnership of local, state, federal, and private agencies focused on the investigation of health care fraud, waste, and abuse in Alaska.

3. Alaska Fugitive Task Force - an inter-agency collaborative of Alaska police departments that cooperates with police agencies throughout the United States.

4. Alaska Anti-Violent Crime Strategy - brings together municipal, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to combat the tide of rising crime in Alaska Department of Justice

Types of Cases Handled Jointly:

Federal Crimes on State/Local Land:

• Cases involving federal land (Bureau of Land Management, National Parks)

• Interstate crimes and fugitive apprehension

• A federal “duty agent” will be called out to every murder scene and shooting scene Department of Justice

Complex Criminal Investigations:

• Political corruption and white-collar crime

• Drug trafficking organizations

• Major political corruption, drug enterprise operations, crimes against children 

• Wildlife crimes and environmental violations

• Financial crimes and fraud

Resource-Related Crimes:

My book’s focus on gold mining disputes and survivalist groups reflects real jurisdictional complexities. In law enforcement, “concurrent jurisdiction” may exist, where a crime may be a local, state, and federal violation all at the same time.

How Cooperation Works:

Formal Partnerships: Task forces have proven to be a highly effective way for the FBI and federal, state, and local law enforcement to join together to address specific crime problems and national security threats .



Resource Sharing: The FBI provides:

• Specialized investigative techniques

• Laboratory services

• Intelligence from any federal investigations, and to explore federal charges if requested to do so by state and local law enforcement Department of Justice

• Expanded search authorities and expedited warrants

My Book’s Accuracy: The scenario in “Stone and Steele” where a local detective partners with an FBI agent on a case involving federal land, survivalist groups, and resource crimes is very realistic. The jurisdictional complications, the need for discretion in small communities like Talkeetna, and the interagency cooperation depicted align well with how Alaska law enforcement actually operates.

The vast distances, limited resources, and complex jurisdictional issues in Alaska make federal-state-local cooperation essential for effective law enforcement - exactly what you’ve portrayed in your mystery series.

AuthorMelissaSaulnierSaulnier.com