The city of Anchorage had a modest beginning as a tent city on the banks of Ship Creek and was originally called Ship Creek Landing. Law enforcement for the
Alaska Territory had been in the hands of the
United States Marshals. On November 23, 1920, Anchorage was incorporated as a first class city. On December 22, 1920, the city council appointed John J. Sturgus to begin as Chief of Police on January 1, 1921, at a salary of $200 a month. He was a one-man police department until his death just six weeks later. He was shot and killed with his own gun on February 20, 1921. Sturgus's murderer was never apprehended. The city council voted to offer a $1,000 reward, the mayor pledged an additional $250, and all other council members and clerk pledged $100 each, bringing the total reward to $1,950. His death was to be APD's first unsolved homicide. Many men served as chief during Anchorage's violent territorial years. In 1926, the council began hiring night watchmen during the long winter months of October through March. On June 19, 1935, the council received a petition signed by seven property owners to provide a 24-hour police force. The department got along on foot with the occasional use of a citizen's borrowed car and the use of taxis until the city decided to purchase a vehicle. In August 1930, APD got its first police vehicle: a used Ford for $63.75. It was not until April 1941 that the council voted to purchase the department's first new police car—a 1941
Dodge 4-door sedan, completely equipped with siren and spotlight, for $1,401.80. In the late 1930s and early 1940s, the military began building bases and the population of Anchorage began to grow, jumping from 4,229 in 1939 to 30,060 in 1950. In 1975, the City of Anchorage merged with the
Greater Anchorage Area Borough (GAAB) to form the
Municipality of Anchorage. Though APD contracted police services to the Borough, "Spenard officers" had to use separate ordinances and accounting systems in their duties. APD's service area increased from to . Today, the Anchorage Police Department is the largest police department in Alaska, serving a population of approximately 275,000 in a service area encompassing , most of the populated portions of the municipality's . The main exceptions are the
Turnagain Arm communities of (from north to south) Rainbow, Indian, Bird, Girdwood, and portage. There are several specialized units including
Canine,
Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT), Homicide Response Team,
Hostage Negotiations Team,
Bomb Team, School Resource Officer (SRO),
Crisis Intervention Team (CIT), Identification Section, Data System Section, Records Section, Traffic and Crime Prevention Unit. APD's Homicide Response Team has been nationally recognized for their techniques and solvability rate. APD operates high-profile undercover and sting-type counter-vice operations throughout Anchorage to suppress and deter vice, narcotics, prostitution, organized crime and quality of life crimes. The department works closely with Alaska DOT Airport Police at
Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, the University of Alaska Police, and the
Alaska State Troopers, who are headquartered in Anchorage. Due to the unique nature of Alaska, with massive tracts of federal lands and its proximity to foreign nations like Russia which shares a nautical border, APD also works closely with various federal law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI, US Customs and Border Protection and US Secret Service. With a large joint US Army-Air Force Base (Joint Base Elemendorf-Richardson) in its boundaries, APD works closely with the US Army and Air Force military police, Security Police, Defense Dept Police and the criminal investigation agencies, Criminal Investigation Division (CID) of the US Army and Office of Special Investigations (OSI) of the Air Force. The US Coast Guard also patrols waterways in the city limits which are popular with boaters. The US Forest Service law enforcement division also patrols USFS lands that abut Anchorage. The department's current chief is an alumnus of
West Anchorage High School, the University of Alaska and the U.S. Marines. Justin Doll ascended to the office in June 2017. Since his appointment he has opened a new Anchorage Police Department Headquarters Building in downtown Anchorage and secured Federal Grant funding to increase patrol units and secure the main highway corridor between the Matanuska Susitna Valley and Anchorage. The Anchorage Police Department's website claims that "APD has come a long way since those early Territorial years" and then states that, nevertheless, "the men and women of the Anchorage Police Department are proud of their heritage and remain dedicated to protect and serve their community." == Academy and Training ==