The UAA Justice Center produced a workload-based staffing model for police patrol in the Alaska State Troopers B Detachment, studying a period for 2009–2015. Alaska State Troopers provide service in unincorporated areas of the state. B Detachment’s service area is a large part of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough and portions of the Valdez-Cordova Census Area along the Richardson Highway,an area of about 20,000 square miles containing 2,250 miles of roadways. According to the study, Troopers in B Detachment are chronically over-utilized, which causes operational problems. The Department of Public Safety released a
press release providing additional details from the study as well as a
link to the study and
infographic based on the study.
Reference
Alaska State Troopers B Detachment Patrol Staffing Study and Description of Dispatched Police Incidents (revised ed.) by Troy C. Payne. Report prepared for the Alaska Department of Public Safety. Anchorage, AK: Justice Center, University of Alaska Anchorage, 22 Feb 2018.
Media coverage
"Mat-Su Troopers Face Staffing Crisis Amid Calls for Help" by Chris Klint. KTVA CBS 11 News, 24 Mar 2018.
"Palmer Police Expansion Would Be Costly, as Valley Grapples with Crime" by Casey Grove. Alaska Public Media, 29 Mar 2018.
"Understaffed, over Utilized: UAA Study Shows Troopers Are Stretched Too Thin in the Valley" by Tim Rockey.
Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, 4 Apr 2018.
