How to Become an Alaska State Trooper

Being an Alaska State Trooper makes you part of an elite law enforcement agency. This means it's a lengthy process to become one. You’ll need to make sure you meet a series of minimum legal and educational requirements. If you’re asked to interview, you’ll need to travel to Alaska to take a physical fitness test. The Public Safety Academy training lasts for 15 weeks and includes a combination of physical fitness and course work. If you can make it to the end of the 10-month process, you might join the elite ranks of the Alaska State Troopers.

Part 1
Part 1 of 4:

Meeting the Minimum Qualifications

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    Earn your high school diploma. Before you can enter the Public Safety Training Academy, you have to complete high school. If you dropped out of school before you graduated, you can earn your GED in order to meet the Academy’s educational qualification.[1]
    • If you were homeschooled, you’ll have to present your diploma from a home school program that’s recognized or certified by the state where you earned your diploma.
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    Become a United States citizen. If you’re already a US citizen, you’re set. If you’re a permanent resident, you must have plans to become a citizen. The Alaska Department of Public Safety might ask you to demonstrate that intention by providing dates for your citizenship exam.[2]
    • You don’t have to be an Alaska resident, only a resident of the United States, to become a Trooper.
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    Be 21 years old or older. To enter the Academy, you have to be at least 21 years old. If you’re a few months away from 21, you can still apply – you just won’t be able to enter the Academy until you have your birthday.[3]
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    Have a valid driver's license. Your driver’s license has to be issued in the United States. It doesn’t, however, have to be an Alaska driver’s license.
    • Your license cannot be expired when you apply to the Academy.
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    Demonstrate that you’ve abided by the law. Because Alaska State Troopers are not only police officers, but public safety officers, too, your legal record has to be basically spotless. There are a number of disqualifying events related to following the law.[4]
    • You can’t have used marijuana – even if it’s legal in the state where you live – in the last 12 months.
    • You also can’t have manufactured, transported, purchased, distributed, or sold controlled substances while you served in a position associated with law enforcement.
    • If you’ve been convicted of a felony related to domestic violence, regardless of whether the decision was ever set aside, you aren’t eligible to be an Alaska State Trooper.
    • You also can’t have been convicted of a misdemeanor or felony, or be on court-ordered probation.
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    Show that you have not been rejected from other police training programs. To be accepted into the Academy, you have to show that you’ve never been let go from other police departments or training academies. If you were let go at any point during a training academy, you’re not eligible to be a trooper.[5]
    • This includes having your certification revoked by the Alaska State Police Council.
    • You also can’t have been disqualified from a formal background check in the 12 months before you applied to the Academy.
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Part 2
Part 2 of 4:

Submitting Your Application

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    Take the Law Enforcement Officer Exam. The Law Enforcement Officer Exam is a written and physical exam that you sign up for through the Public Safety Testing website (https://www.publicsafetytesting.com/wizard/department/testsets/). Once you sign up to take the exam, you’ll receive study materials electronically.
    • What is on the exam will vary, but it will be related to the study materials you receive and will test your knowledge of the laws you'll be expected to uphold.
    • Once you receive your study materials, set a study schedule for yourself. Cover so much of the study guide each day to make sure you get through all of it before the exam.
    • The exam is only offered a few times a year in a few different locations. You can contact Public Safety Testing through their website to ask them to set an exam nearer to you.
    • Arrive at the exam location about 30 minutes early so you can register and get settled before the exam begins.
    • The written exam is administered first, followed by the physical exam. You should set aside 6 to 8 hours on exam day to complete both parts.
    • On the day of the exam, make sure you bring a government-issued ID with you, plus the Applicant Liability Waiver and Release Agreement that will come in your exam study materials. The waiver should be notarized - if you can't get it notarized before the exam, a notary will be available 10 minutes prior to the exam.
    • Leave any bags and electronic devices in your car for the written exam. If you've brought clothes to change into for the physical exam, you'll have about 10 minutes to grab them and change. Or you can just wear those clothes to your exam.
    • You should get your scores within 2 to 3 business days after the exam. If you fail, you can retest every 90 days.
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    Create an account on the Government Jobs website. Once you've passed the Law Enforcement Officers Exam, you’ll need the account to access the application for the Alaska State Troopers. Go the Government Jobs website (https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/alaska?) and click the button at the top of the job posting that says "Create an account." Follow the prompts.[6]
    • You'll need a valid email address and you'll have to create a password you can remember.
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    Fill out the application on the Government jobs website. You can search the website for careers by state. Type in Alaska, and then scroll through the jobs until you see “State Trooper Recruit/Lateral.”
    • You can also access the application through Alaska’s Department of Public Safety website. The website will tell you if applications are currently being accepted.
    • If you already have an active police certification and one year of patrol experience, you’re considered a “State Trooper Lateral,” which means you’re coming into the Troopers from another police department.
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    Submit additional documentation. The hiring process for Alaska State Troopers takes almost a year. This is mostly because they have a very thorough background check process, which requires that you submit documentation beyond your application.
    • You’ll need your birth certificate, plus court documents showing that your name has changed if applicable.
    • Your high school transcripts showing the granting of your diploma or your testing results for the GED will need to be submitted. You’ll also need transcripts for all post-secondary education you completed, even if you didn’t earn a degree.
    • A 10-year work history and a 10-year residential history are also required. You must include every single job and residence you’ve had in the last ten years.
    • If you’re a former military member, you’ll need your discharge papers for every period of service for every branch of the military in which you served.
    • If you’re a Naturalized citizen, you’ll need your Naturalization papers and a photograph.
    • You also need to include the telephone numbers and addresses of your current and former spouses/partners.
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Part 3
Part 3 of 4:

Completing the Interview and Physical Fitness Exam

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    Travel to Anchorage, Alaska. The interview and physical fitness exam are the last steps in the hiring process before you enter the Academy. If you’re invited to interview, you’ll have to pay your own way to Anchorage, and make plans to stay for 10 to 12 days.
    • It can take several weeks for you to hear from a recruiter about an interview, so stay patient.
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    Perform at least 25 pushups. When you’re taking the pushup test, a tester will place a 3-inch (7.5 cm) wooden block below your sternum. You have to touch the block with your chest each time you lower yourself down.
    • You can rest during the test, but only in the “up” position with your arms fully extended and your back straight.
    • If you move your hands and feet at all to reposition them, the test is considered over.
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    Take a 1-minute sit-up test. You’ll need to perform 27 sit-ups in under a minute to past this portion of the test. Your hips must remain on the floor while your knees are bent with your feet flat on the floor. You can rest in the up position only, when your elbows are touching or extending past your knees.
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    Run a timed run. The predetermined course is always 1.5 miles (2.5 km) long, but it might take place in a different area each time – on a track, down a sidewalk, or a cross-country trail. You have to complete the run in 15 minutes and 12 seconds.
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Part 4
Part 4 of 4:

Attending the Public Safety Training Academy

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    Complete the Alaska Law Enforcement Training program. The A.L.E.T. program is specifically for Alaska State Trooper recruits or laterals. If you successfully complete the interview and physical fitness exam, you'll be invited to join the program. It’s 15 weeks long, and physically and mentally intense.
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    Follow the ALET program training and education schedule. This includes physical conditioning runs from 5:10 to 7:00 am, and classroom and practical training from 7:50 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Throughout this program, you'll learn law enforcement strategy, including legal knowledge, proper procedures, and how to apprehend and arrest someone. You'll also be trained in weapons handling.
    • If you need testing or driving instruction, this will generally take place on the weekend.
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    Attend the Trooper Basic Course. If you're going to be hired as an Alaska State Trooper, you'll be notified before you graduate from the A.L.E.T. program. If you are, you’ll need to complete another three-week Trooper Basic Course. This focuses on more specialized training, with legal knowledge and procedures related to the things you might see as a Trooper, including how to handle situations in the wilderness.
    • If you aren't hired as an Alaska State Trooper at this point, you'll need to reapply and go through the entire process again. You can do so during the next recruitment cycle. There are two recruitment cycles per year - one in the spring and one in the fall.
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    Get your first assignment. Your first duty assignment will be in one of three places: Soldotna, Fairbanks, and Palmer. You will be asked what your preference is, but you might not necessarily get it. Each of the three areas will give you a chance to get some experience in larger cities before you're possibly reassigned somewhere smaller.[7]
    • Your assignments can include elements of highway traffic enforcement, rural law enforcement, statewide drug and alcohol enforcement and statewide major crimes investigations. You'll likely start with highway traffic and rural law enforcement.[8]
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Community Q&A

  • Question
    What are the age limits on becoming an Alaska state trooper?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    According to the Alaska State Trooper's website, you must be 21 years of age or older at the time of academy training. You must also be in good physical condition, and, of course, pass your classes at the academy.
  • Question
    How much does it cost to do the academy in Alaska?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    Free through the AST, but you must pay the DPS $45 to take the written test.
  • Question
    How long, after I am hired, do I have in order to finish training at the academy?
    WikiaWang
    WikiaWang
    Top Answerer
    The entire training process lasts 18 weeks. 15 during ALET and 3 during Trooper Basic Course.
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References

  1. ↑ http://dps.alaska.gov/ast/recruit/qualifications.aspx
  2. ↑ http://dps.alaska.gov/ast/recruit/qualifications.aspx
  3. ↑ http://dps.alaska.gov/ast/recruit/qualifications.aspx
  4. ↑ http://dps.alaska.gov/ast/recruit/qualifications.aspx
  5. ↑ http://dps.alaska.gov/ast/recruit/qualifications.aspx
  6. ↑ https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/alaska/jobs/1728338/state-trooper-recruit-lateral-pcn-12-spring2018b/apply?page=19&pagetype=jobOpportunitiesJobs%2CjobOpportunitiesJobs%2CjobOpportunitiesJobs
  7. ↑ http://dps.alaska.gov/ast/recruit/duty.aspx
  8. ↑ http://dps.alaska.gov/AST/recruit/astCoreValues.aspx

About This Article

wikiHow Staff
Co-authored by:
wikiHow Staff
wikiHow Staff Writer
This article was co-authored by wikiHow Staff. Our trained team of editors and researchers validate articles for accuracy and comprehensiveness. wikiHow's Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article is backed by trusted research and meets our high quality standards. This article has been viewed 43,141 times.
9 votes - 100%
Co-authors: 11
Updated: February 17, 2023
Views: 43,141
Categories: Police Careers
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