How to become a police officer in Alaska

Pay at the Anchorage Police Department

Each city and county sets its own pay. This is the official scale of the Anchorage Police Department, the largest city's agency.

APDEA 2026 salary schedule (effective first full pay period of 2026, +4.3%), Grade 35 (Police Officer): Step 1 $41.06/hr to Step 10 $56.48/hr; annual = hourly x 2080. 2027 schedule adds a further increase. Police officers move to Step 2 after 180 days, Step 3 on completing the 477-day probation (which includes the academy and field training), then one step per year (CBA Art. XV Sec. 2), so Step 10 is roughly 8 years in. Lateral APSC-certified hires may start at higher steps.

Source:[muni.org]

Pay for this work across Alaska

Federal survey figures for police and sheriff's patrol officers in Alaska, counting every employer in the state, public and private, so they differ from any one agency's pay scale above.

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, state estimates (all employers)[bls.gov]

Requirements

• Minimum age: 21
• Education: High school diploma (or state-recognized home school diploma) or GED
• Citizenship: U.S. citizen or U.S. national
• Good moral character
• No felony conviction or misdemeanor crime of domestic violence
• No conviction in the last 10 years of a crime of dishonesty or moral turpitude, a crime causing serious physical injury, or two or more DUIs
• No illegal manufacture/transport/sale of controlled substances (narrow exception if under 21 and more than 10 years before hire); no illegal use of listed controlled substances in the 5 years before hire (with exceptions)
• No prior denial, revocation or surrender of police certification unless rescinded
• Physician-certified physically capable, and psychiatrist/psychologist-certified mentally capable, of the essential functions of the job
• Fingerprints on FBI FD-258 cards
• Must enroll in a council-certified basic academy within 6 months of hire; cannot be employed more than 13 consecutive months without a basic certificate (one extension of up to 6 months possible)

Source:[akleg.gov]

Hiring process

1. Proof of age, citizenship and education
2. Fingerprinting (FBI FD-258)
3. APSC personal history statement and background investigation
4. Medical history and physical examination
5. Psychological examination by a licensed psychiatrist or psychologist
6. Basic police officer academy (enroll within 6 months of hire)
7. Council-certified field training program
8. 12 consecutive months of probation, then APSC basic certificate

Source:[akleg.gov]

Required training

650 hours minimum. 13 AAC 85.050: minimum 650 continuous hours of instruction across 30 required topics; excused absences may not exceed 10% of hours and a passing grade of 70% or higher is required. The academy must be completed within 13 months of hire (13 AAC 85.040).[akleg.gov]

Pension and retirement

• Plan: Alaska Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) - Defined Contribution Retirement (DCR) Plan
• Benefit formula: Defined contribution: DCR Plan account balance plus investment earnings (employee contributes 8% of pay pre-tax; employer contributes 5% to the account plus HRA, retiree medical and occupational death & disability contributions). No defined-benefit formula for new hires.
• When you can retire: No retirement age for the investment account; employer contributions vest 25% after 2 years to 100% after 5 years. Police/fire members are exempt from early-withdrawal penalties if they separate at age 50 or with at least 25 years of police/fire service.

PERS DB tiers closed to employees entering after 6/30/2006. HB 78 (2026), which would have reopened a defined-benefit option, was vetoed in May 2026 and the override failed (Senate Journal 2026-05-19: https://www.akleg.gov/pdf/34/J/S2026-05-19.PDF).

Source:[drb.alaska.gov]