FAQs for APD Website
REQUESTS FOR ACTION
Emergency Number – 911 Non Emergency Number (907) 786-8900
How is the Anchorage Police Department Structured?
APD like most police departments is a paramilitary organization. It has rank and a command structure. The Chief is the department head and he is appointed by the Mayor of Anchorage. Running day to day operations of the department is the Deputy Chief who is also appointed by the Mayor. Both Chief and Deputy Chief serve at the pleasure of the Mayor. Patrol Division, Detective Division, Crime Suppression Division and Administration Management are all commanded by Captains.
In Patrol, a Lieutenant is the commander of each shift (Days, Swings and Mids), each of which is run by Sergeants who are the patrol officers’ supervisors.
In Detectives, there are three teams (Team1 – Homicide Unit, Assault & Robbery Unit, Financial Crimes Unit, Theft Unit, and Burglary Unit; Team 2 – Special Victims Unit, Crimes Against Children Unit, Cyber Crimes Unit; Team 3- Drug Enforcement Unit) each of which are commanded by a Lieutenant. Each unit is supervised by a Detective Sergeant who supervises and assigns cases for follow-up by Detectives.
The Captain of Crime Suppression commands the SWAT Unit, Community Action Policing Team, Traffic Unit and all other specialized units. Usually specialized units are commanded by Lieutenants and Supervised by Sergeants.
The Captain of Administration Management commands Payroll/Personnel, Dispatch, Evidence and Police Records sections which are staffed by non-sworn personnel.
Section contact numbers for police personnel
Administration
Chief Mew – 786-8590
Executive Assistant V. Blume – 786-8595
Deputy Chief Smith – 786-8553
Deputy Chief Hebbe – 786-2466
Internal Affairs
Sgt. J. Bucher – 786-2419
Sgt. K. Vandegriff – 786-2683
Public Affairs
Commander - Lt. Parker – 786-8724
Crime Prevention Specialist A. Shell – 786-8664
Crime Prevention Specialist M. Lammers – 786-8699
Patrol Division, Captain Ross Plummer – 786-8778
Patrol
Day Shift (0700-1700)
Commander – Lt. Henning – 786-2470
Swing Shift (1500-0100)
Commander – Lt. Thelen 786-2675
Mid Shift (2300-0900)
Commander – Lt. Fanning – 786-2451
School Resource Officers
Commander – Lt. Richardson – 742-7861 / 786-8626
Sgt. Rollins – 742-4313 / 786-8871
Ofc. Addington / Dimond / 742-7051 / 786-8542Ofc. Carroll / East / 742-2193 / 786-2648
Ofc. Clark / Service / 742-6695 / 786-8927
Ofc. Goetz / East / 742-2193 / 786-8550
Ofc. Jones / Service / 742-6695 / 786-2483
Ofc. Lund / ERHS / 742-2741 / 786-2494
Ofc. McKay / South / 742-6291 / 786-2606
Ofc. Mercer / Clark / 742-7795 / 786-2653
Ofc. Musgrave / Chugiak / 742-3219 / 729-7624
Ofc. Paige / Bartlett / 742-1990 / 786-2623
Ofc. Pratt / South / 742-6291 / 786-2629
Ofc. Shackelford / Chugiak / 742-3219 / 786-2692
Ofc. Tanaka / Bartlett / 742-1990 / 786-2674
Ofc. Wells / Dimond / 742-7051 / 786-2686
Ofc. Winborg / West / 742-2608 / 786-2691
Ofc. Yoon / West / 742-2608 / 786-8824
Traffic Unit
Sgt. Doll – 786-2439
Detective Division, Captain Kris Miller – 786-8751
Commander – Lt. Michelle Bucher – 786-8557
Crimes Against Children Unit – Sgt. Stanton – 786-2668
Special Victims Unit – Sgt. McCoy – 786-8577
Commander – Lt. Nancy Reeder – 786-2634
Burglary – Sgt. Tidler – 786-2679
Financial Crimes Unit – Sgt. Rhodes – 786-8861
Cyber Crimes Unit – Sgt. Couturier – 786-2444
Theft – Sgt. Pickerel – 786-8504
Commander (vacant)
Homicide Unit – Sgt. Markiewicz – 786-8582
Robbery/Assault Unit – Sgt. Triplett – 786-2680
Vice Team 1 – Sgt. Lacey – 786-2425
Vice Team 2 – Sgt. Padgett – 786-8543
Crime Suppression Division, Captain Bill Miller – 786-8558
Community Action Policing Team
Commander – Lt. Gilliam – 786-8647
Supervisor – Sgt. Rein – 786-2635
Administration Management Division, Captain Dave Koch – 786-8870
Evidence
Main Number – 786-8660
Supervisor Garrison – 786-8608
Impounds
Main Number – 786-8854
Supervisor – M. McCulley – 786-8892
Animal Complaints
Have issues with barking dogs or loose animals? Need to report a dog bite?
Contact the Anchorage Animal Care and Control Center. They are open to the public for customer service during the following hours:
Monday through Friday 11:00A.M.to 7:00P.M.
Saturday and Sunday 10:00A.M. to6:00P.M.
Closed: New Years Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day,and Christmas Day.
Location and Contacts
4711 Elmore Road Anchorage, AK 99507
Main phone: 343-8118
Dispatch: 343-8119
Customer Service: 343-8122
Are there bears or moose posing an immediate risk or danger?
Call 911 or the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to report the location of the animal and its behavior.
Arrests
How do I find out if a person has been arrested?
The State of Alaska provides a website for researching court records called Courtview.
What happens when a person is arrested for a crime?
When the Anchorage Police Department takes an arrestee into custody most often a telephonic or in-person bail hearing is conducted with a magistrate. The magistrate determines whether or not there is bail and what the conditions of release would be. After the bail hearing, the arrestee would be remanded (booked) into the Anchorage Jail. If the arrestee is eligible to be bailed, then the corrections staff at the jail gives him/her access to a telephone to arrange the payment of their bail.
What information is made public about an arrest?
The records displayed contain information on individuals, such as the type and description of the offense, dates and case disposition.
How do I contact an inmate?
The Alaska Department of Justice Website provides detailed information for contacting inmates.
How do victims track information about their offender’s case and custody status?
VINELink is the online version of VINE (Victim Information and Notification Everyday), the National Victim Notification Network. This service allows crime victims to obtain timely and reliable information about criminal cases and the custody status of offenders 24 hours a day.
Bicycles
What happens to bicycles found by citizens or the police?
Each year, the Anchorage Police Department has almost 1000 bicycles that are recovered as found property. The owners of those bicycles are often never found. These bicycles are then turned over the the YMCA for their annual bike auction. For more information about these auctions, see YMCA bicycle auctions
What the laws surrounding bicycle traffic?
Anchorage Bicycle Laws
Child Safety Seat Checks
Do you want to make sure your child’s safety seat is installed properly?
Protect your precious cargo and contact the Alaska Injury Prevention Center at (907) 929-3939 to schedule an appointment.
Please visit http://www.carseatsak.org/ for detailed information, law and safety tips about child restraints.
Complaints about Employees
Who do I call to complain about an employee of the Anchorage Police Department?
Complaints may be submitted to the Anchorage Police Department by calling the APD “Non Emergency” Number, 907-786-8900 and asking for the employee’s supervisor or a complaint may be made to the Internal Affairs Unit using the same number.
How does APD handle employee complaints?
All complaints are investigated either by supervisors or Internal Affairs. If the complaint involves criminal accusations, detectives from the Detective Unit which deals with that genre of crime may be assigned to investigate.
Criminal investigations are reviewed by the Alaska Department of Law for possible criminal prosecution. Officers who have broken the law are prosecuted just like any other person except some of the prosecutions are handled by the Department of Law’s Office of Special Prosecutions rather than the District Attorney’s Office.
Non-criminal complaints are investigated and discipline such as a letter of reprimand in the employee’s personnel file, unpaid days off or termination of employment can be meted out for those who have violated APD policies. All non-criminal investigations result in one of the following findings:
Sustained: The investigation disclosed sufficient evidence to prove that the incident did occur and that the individual named in the complaint was responsible and was culpable.
Not Sustained: The investigation failed to disclose enough evidence to clearly prove or disprove the allegation or the complainant failed to cooperate with the investigation and it was closed.
Exonerated: This finding states that the act that provided the basis for the complaint or allegation occurred; however, the investigation revealed that the act was justified, lawful, proper, and that no misconduct was involved.
Unfounded: The investigation conclusively proved that the incident did not occur, or that the employee named in the complaint was not involved.
What will I be told about the outcome of a complaint?
A person making a non-criminal complaint will be informed if the complaint is sustained, not sustained, exonerated or unfounded. More information cannot be given out because personnel employment records are not open to the public.
If a criminal charge results from a complaint about an employee, it is handled through the court system like any other criminal complaint and is public record.
Crime Mapping/Reporting
How do I get information on where crime takes place?
Anchorage Crime Map
CRIMEMAPPING.COM
To enroll in the automatic Crime Mapping program Click Here.
Uniform Crime Reporting
APD Crime Statistics
Crime Stoppers
How does it work?
Put simply it is a three part approach to solving the crime problem. Crime Stoppers relies on cooperation between the police, the media, and the general community to provide a flow of information about crime and criminals.
Is it really anonymous?
Calls are received at the local Crime Stoppers tips line phone. This phone is a stand alone instrument which does not provide caller ID, and conversations are not recorded. The Crime Stopperscall takertakes your information and passes it on to the investigating officer. Calls are accepted regarding any publicized request for information, such as "Wanted Suspects" or such other felony crime(s) the caller has knowledge of.
By guaranteeing a caller’s anonymity, Crime Stoppers allows the caller to give information in a positive atmosphere without the prospect of retaliation.
How are pay-outs made for tips?
By offering cash rewards for information leading to a felony arrest, the program encourages otherwise reluctant callers to provide information.
When a tipster leaves a tip they are assigned a “Tipster Number.” It is the responsibility of the tipster to call back and see if an arrest was made based on the tip they left. If there was an arrest then the Crime Stoppers Board of Directors will review the case to determine the amount of the reward ($100 to $1000). After the amount of the reward is determined, Crime Stoppers volunteers will meet with the tipster at a mutually agreed location and will be paid in cash. The tipster does not need to provide their name, the “Tipster Number” serves as the tipster’s identity.
Is there a way to file my tip online?
Yes, tipsters now have the option of providing tips online. The process is completely secure and anonymous and is a veryeffective and efficient means of safely communicating with us intoday's world. Our WebTip process is powered by the world's leading online tip solution provider, Anderson Software.
The very unique integrated Two-Way Dialog capability allows the tipster to come back and provide additional informationto their tip at any time, but also provides a secure means for the coordinator to ask questions or provide reward information back to the tipster through the same secure and encrypted interface.
To file your tip on our secure website, click here.
Crime Prevention /Public Relations
What is Neighborhood Crime Watch and how does it work?
Neighborhood Crime Watch is a Crime Prevention Program of the Anchorage Police Department. It is one of the most effective and least costly ways of reducing and/or preventing residential property crimes. It is a citizen involvement, neighborhood and community based effort designed to assist citizens and the police in reducing crime and increasing an overall sense of peace, safety and security in the neighborhood. The program’s success is hinged on improving communications between neighbors and achieving and sustaining an appropriate level of neighbor involvement to a point where the neighbors realize a reduction and/or achieves prevention of burglaries and other property crimes.
For more information about how you can apply for the Neighborhood Crime Watch Program, contact Officer Natasha Welch at 786-8585 or by clicking here.
Does APD provide tours for the Anchorage Police Department?
Yes. Tours must be scheduled ahead of time. We do not offer tours on a drop-in basis.
For evening and/or weekend tours, contact Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS) Coordinator Mike Smulski at (907) 786-8662
For weekdays, Monday-Thursday, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., contact Crime Prevention Specialist Anita Shell at (907) 786-8664
I’d like to have a police officer speak to my community group. How can I request that?
Contact Anchorage Police Public Relations by calling (907) 786-8699.
Does the Anchorage Police Department do safety presentations for local businesses?
Yes. Public Affairs has a series of safety presentations on the following topics which are available to the public. After each topic there is a link for more information:
· Winter Driving: Winter Driving Pamphlet presented by the US Army (Ft. Richardson)
· DWI Awareness: MADD Mothers against Drunk Driving
· Personal Safety: UAA University of Alaska Personal Safety Guide
· Robbery Prevention: Colorado Robbery Investigators present Robbery Prevention Tips
· Business/Home Burglary Prevention: Burglary Prevention Council
Disasters
Preparing for Disasters (Wildfires, earthquakes, snow storms, acts of terrorism etc.:
Anchorage is not immune to disasters. Please refer to the federal government’s comprehensive online guide for disaster preparedness.
www.Ready.gov
Domestic Violence
Help for victims of domestic violence.
Alaska Network on Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault (ANDVSA)
Alaska Victim-Witness Assistance Program
Information on Domestic Violence
Information on Sexual Assault
Information on Safety Planning – Preparing a Safety Plan
Domestic violence brochure:
English: English “Little Blue Book”
Spanish: Spanish “Little Green Book”
Tagalog: Tagalog “Little Green Book”
Hmong: Hmong “Little Green Book”
Korean: Korean “Little Green Book”
Samoan: Samoan “Little Green Book”