Press Releases
05/16/13,
DPS PR# 13-013
Click It or Ticket 2013
(ANCHORAGE, Alaska) -Starting Monday, May 20, 2013, the Alaska State Troopers will participate in the annual National Click it or Ticket Campaign which lasts through June 2, 2013. Troopers will be out on patrols and they will be watching for motorists not wearing their seatbelts.
Troopers encourage you to always practice safe driving behaviors on the roads while traveling to and from your destination. If you are in a vehicle, you should always wear your seatbelt and encourage those around you to do the same. Children in vehicles should be properly restrained using the appropriate safety equipment whether it be a seatbelt, a booster seat or a car seat.
Funding for this educational campaign is coordinated through the Alaska Office of Highway Safety.
PDF version of the release...
05/10/13,
DPS PR # 13-012
Alaskans Turn In 3,931 Pounds During Recent National Prescription Take Back Day
(ANCHORAGE, Alaska) - Alaskans turned in 3,931 pounds of prescription medication during the sixth Drug Enforcement Administration National Prescription Drug Take Back event on April 27.
Until a safe disposal process for prescription medications is established nationwide, the DEA will continue to partner with agencies, like the Alaska State Troopers, to hold Take Back Days every six months. The Alaska State Troopers would like to thank the DEA along with the Alaska National Guard Counterdrug Support Program, the U.S. Department of Justice, Anchorage Police Department, Fort Wainwright, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Juneau PD, Wasilla PD, Palmer PD, Valdez PD, North Pole PD, Soldotna PD, Kenai PD and Seward PD for their efforts. The event wouldn't have been possible or successful without the enormous effort put out by the volunteers and private agencies.
This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high - more Americans currently abuse prescription drugs than the number of those using cocaine, hallucinogens, and heroin combined, according to the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.
In all, there were 31 Take Back locations in 25 communities around Alaska that participated in the event in April: Anchorage, Aniak, Bethel, Dillingham, Eagle River, Emmonak, Fairbanks, Fort Wainwright , Glennallen, Juneau, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Ketchikan, Klawock, Kodiak, Kotzebue, McGrath, Nome, North Pole, Palmer, St. Mary’s, Seward, Sitka, Soldotna, Talkeetna and Wasilla.
For a list of amount of prescription drugs turned in throughout the different Alaska communities, go to http://www.dps.state.ak.us/PIO/releases/resources/Press%20Release%20Information/. To view the DEA's national release on the Prescription Drug Take Back Day, go to http://www.justice.gov/dea/divisions/hq/2013/hq050213.shtml.
PDF version of the release...
05/08/13,
DPS PR# 13-011
Police Memorial Ceremonies
(ANCHORAGE, Alaska) - Alaska's Police Memorial Day will be celebrated this Friday May 10, 2013. To honor the 64 fallen Law Enforcement Officers from across the state, there will be multiple ceremonies at various locations.
Anchorage: May 10, 2013. The event starts at 3pm and is located in front of the Alaska State Crime Detection Laboratory at 4805 Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue
Fairbanks: May 15, 2013. The event starts at 11am and is located at the Fairbanks Police Department at 911 Cushman Street. Following the ceremony, FPD will host a picnic at their building.
Juneau: May 15, 2013. At noon there will be a wreath-laying at Evergreen Cemetery. At 6:00 pm there will be a ceremony in front of the Juneau Police Department. After that, there will be a partial showing of a documentary about fallen officers and their families inside JPD.
Please come and show your support to the men and women who wear a badge in orderto make Alaska a safer, better place and to remember those who have lost their lives in the process.
*National Police Memorial Day is recognized on May 15 every year. Alaska holds its main memorial service the Friday before the national memorial so families of the fallen officers can attend both events.
PDF version of the release...
