Alaska § 18.65.672 - Village public safety officer qualifications.

§ 18.65.672. Village public safety officer qualifications.

 (a) A grant recipient may employ a person as a village public safety officer if the individual        (1) is at least 21 years of age;

 (2) is a citizen of the United States or a resident alien;

 (3) is of good moral character;

 (4) has obtained a high school diploma or a general education development diploma or its equivalent;

 (5) satisfies the physical requirements established in regulation by the department;

 (6) has not been previously convicted             (A) of a felony;

 (B) of a sex offense as defined in AS 12.63.100 ;

 (C) of a misdemeanor crime involving domestic violence unless at least 10 years have passed since the date of the conviction, the conviction was not for an offense against an intimate partner, spouse, child, or parent, and the department grants a waiver allowing the individual to access the criminal justice information system;

 (D) of a misdemeanor if less than five years have elapsed since the individual's date of conviction for the offense;

 (E) two or more times of                  (i) misdemeanor operating a vehicle, aircraft, or watercraft while under the influence of an alcoholic beverage, inhalant, or controlled substance under AS 28.35.030 ;

 (ii) misdemeanor refusal to submit to a chemical test under AS 28.35.032 ; or

 (iii) a combination of the offenses in (i) and (ii) of this subparagraph;

 (F) of manufacturing, transporting, or delivering an alcoholic beverage in violation of a local option under AS 04.11 or a municipal ordinance or a controlled substance, unless at least 10 years have elapsed; or

 (G) of possession of a controlled substance as defined in AS 11.71.900 , other than marijuana, unless the individual was under 21 years of age at the time of the possession and the possession occurred more than 10 years before the date of hire;

 (7) has not been denied a village public safety officer certification or had a certification revoked; and

 (8) has not been denied police officer certification, had a certificate revoked, or surrendered a certificate in this state or another jurisdiction.

 (b) A grant recipient may not use grant money to employ a village public safety officer for a period of more than 24 months unless the officer obtains a village public safety officer certificate from the department under AS 18.65.682 . Upon written application from a grant recipient, the department may, in its discretion, extend this period up to six months to permit the officer to complete the training required under AS 18.65.676 , if the officer is unable to do so in the first 24 months of employment because of an illness, injury, or emergency.

 (c) In this section,        (1) “good moral character” means the absence of acts or conduct that would cause a reasonable person to have substantial doubts about an individual's honesty, fairness, and respect for the rights of others and for the laws of this state and the United States; for purposes of this section, a determination of lack of good moral character may be based on a consideration of all aspects of a person's character;

 (2) “previously convicted” means having been convicted of a crime described in (a) of this section or a law or ordinance of another jurisdiction with elements similar to the crimes listed in (a) of this section; a conviction for which the person received a suspended entry of judgment, suspended imposition of sentence, expungement, or pardon is a conviction for purposes of this section, unless the conviction was for a misdemeanor crime committed by the individual when the individual was under 21 years of age.