Alaska governor signs background checks bill into law

BETHEL, Alaska (AP) – A bill allowing the Alaska Police Standards Council to work with villages to conduct background checks when hiring police officers has been signed into law.

Alaska’s Energy Desk reports Gov. Bill Walker visited Bethel last week to sign the bill into law that aims to ensure that villages have the tools necessary to run background checks.

The new law doesn’t require compliance from tribal police departments.

Walker’s administration sent a delegation to the city of Marshall in western Alaska earlier this month. Marshall’s tribal council had issued a request for an emergency declaration last year to address its ongoing public safety crisis. The community has been without a police force for nearly two decades.

Walker says the bill could be part of Marshall’s solution.
—
Information from: KYUK-AM, http://www.kyuk.org

The post Alaska governor signs background checks bill into law appeared first on Newstalk 750 – 103.7 KFQD.