This police responsibility question is an interesting one; just who is responsible for law enforcement response inside the borough outside of the townsite? Who’s going to answer calls for help at say, Chilkat Lake, the Mud Bay peninsula, the end of Lutak Road or Excursion Inlet? There is a lot of remote territory outside the townsite. The federal government’s law enforcement branch will investigate crimes on federal property if asked, so why won’t the state do the same on their property? The Alaska State Troopers respond to calls in villages and remote areas all over the state whether or not a trooper is stationed there. The combining of our two governments, city and borough of Haines, happened more than 18 years ago, so why all of a sudden is there a problem with law enforcement responsibilities? I get that our trooper was moved to a location they deemed more important but to say that it’s now our responsibility to investigate outside the townsite is curious. Was this discussed with our elected officials before the move? If not, then why wasn’t it? I think the borough has some political capital that hasn’t been spent yet, a little more pressure from our elected officials might nudge the state in the right direction, but they need to try.
Gregory Goodman