FAQ

We try to contact applicants within one business day after receiving their application. Our recruitment process takes 4 to 6 months to complete.  A way to help ensure your testing process moves along is to respond promptly to any emails or phone calls from staff, be thorough in completing your paperwork, and pay attention to deadlines you are given.  If at any time you feel that it has been too long since your last communication with someone from the department, feel free to check in with a recruitment coordinator at (907) 500-0640 or email your last point of contact at JPD.

The steps can be broken into 3 main phases. 


Phase I – written test, fitness test (standards can be found at JPD – Employment – City and Borough of Juneau), oral board interview, Personal History Questionnaire/Suitability Assessment Rating (a pre-conditional-job-offer written psychological exam)

Note:  Lateral applicants can skip written test and fitness test.

Applicants do not need to wait for specific testing dates. You can set up a time to take your written test through Public Safety Testing (PST), and JPD will pay the cost. You may schedule your physical test through PST or through JPD. JPD offers remote, self-recorded fitness tests after you’ve completed and passed your written test.
* Pass Phase I and you will be issued a Conditional Job Offer.


Phase II – polygraph, background investigation, psychological exam

* Pass Phase II and you will be given a final Job Offer, including start date and wage info.


Phase III – medical exam, drug test

Yes, but not until Phase II.  All portions of the process can be done remotely, if necessary, but the polygraph exam must be done in person.  This trip to Juneau will be coordinated and paid for by JPD.  Applicants are given per diem reimbursement after travel has occurred.

There is no maximum age to being a police officer in Alaska.   By law, the minimum age to be a police officer is 21 at the time of hire.  This means that you can apply with us before turning 21; we would just wait to hire you until you turn 21.  If this situation applies to you, we recommend starting the testing process with us 6 months before turning 21.

All of our sworn officers must attend the State of Alaska’s Law Enforcement Training Academy within their first year of hire.  The Academy is located in Sitka, Alaska, which is a 40-minute flight from Juneau.  Entry level officers attend the 17-week basic academy held twice a year (spring and fall).  Lateral officers attend the 2-week recert academy held each November.  The Academy is a live-in training program for the duration of the session; more info on the academy can be found here: Home – Academy – Comm – Alaska Department of Public Safety   JPD pays for recruits to attend the Academy and does require recruits to sign a training reimbursement agreement ahead of time, committing to complete the training academy and to remain with the department for 3 years. Recruits are paid their normal salary while attending the Academy.

Lateral applicants must meet the minimum requirements of an entry level police officer and have at least one year of uniformed patrol duty as a commissioned law enforcement officer plus validated evidence of successful completion of a related training academy certified by the appropriate state, federal, or local regulatory or oversight agency.

For more details on JPD’s requirements to be a lateral applicant, please refer to the ‘Minimum Qualifications’ section of the Lateral job posting, found here: Police Officer – Lateral Entry | Job Details tab | Career Pages (governmentjobs.com)  Additionally, the Alaska Police Standards Council has experience and reciprocity requirements which can be reviewed here: 2018-website-Reciprocity.pdf;.aspx (alaska.gov)

The minimum requirements for application are that you are a citizen of the United States or a U.S. National, that you are 21 years of age or older, have a high school diploma or GED, and be of good moral character.

For more information on the minimum requirements, please review the Alaska Administrative Code, Chapter 85, found here: Alaska Admin Code (akleg.gov)

In general, criminal convictions and drug use can be disqualifiers based on how long ago they occurred.

For more information on automatic disqualifiers, please review the Alaska Administrative Code, Chapter 85, found here: Alaska Admin Code (akleg.gov)

Yes, we do! The City and Borough of Juneau has an Employee Assistance Program and Health Yourself Program that is available for all city employees. The Health Yourself program provides a variety of biometric screenings, challenges, discounts on recreational facilities, educational events, and other health activities to help our employees serve our community to the best of their ability.

The Juneau Police Department has our own additional wellness program that provides 10 free sessions with a qualified mental health professional for the employee and their family, initial and ongoing resiliency training for employees and their significant others, and peer support resources. Employees also have access to an onsite gym, and staff, including patrol officers, are allowed to use their lunch break to work out on duty.

We do not provide a specific relocation allowance; however, we do offer a sign-on bonus for police officers and dispatchers.  Dispatch hires receive a $10,000 bonus, Entry Level Officers receive $25,000, and Lateral Officers receive $30,000.  The bonus is paid in 2 installments, with the first half paid out with your first paycheck, approximately a month after hire.  The second half is paid out once the academy (only for officers) and the field training program have been completed. 

Yes, we offer both pay enhancements and a Longevity Bonus program.  The Longevity Bonus is for sworn officers and is a $10,000 bonus every 4 years along with a commitment to stay at JPD and work the next 4 years.  These are available every 4 years, up to year 20, and equate to a total of $50,000 in bonuses over a 20-year career.  This is on top of the initial sign-on bonus and annual merit increases (or biannual if in longevity).

Employees can receive increased pay for working certain hours (shift differentials) and PSEA union employees can receive increased pay for participating in specialty teams or having certain ancillary duties.  These pay enhancements can range from 2% to 19.5% of the employee’s hourly pay rate.

The City and Borough of Juneau offers a very competitive benefits package with a few perks that you should know about.  Employees are part of the Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS) and pay into a Defined Contribution retirement account.  In addition, the City offers employees the ability to contribute to a 457 Deferred Comp plan WITH a partial match from the City depending on an employee’s years of service.   The City also recently adopted a new benefit of paid parental leave for qualifying benefitted employees.  If an employee has worked for the City for at least a year, and experiences a qualifying event (birth or adoption of a child), the employee gets 6 weeks of paid leave to bond with the child!  This paid leave can be used during  the 18-week parental bonding period allowed through FMLA.  For more information on these and other benefits, please visit: https://juneau.org/human-resources/benefits.

One of the best things about a career at JPD is the ability to work in specialty units or have ancillary duties that allow you to have variety and growth in your career. You can laterally transfer to units like: Criminal Investigations Unit, Drug Unit, School Resource Officer, Airport Officer, and Downtown Officer. You can also have ancillary duties like: SWAT, Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Crisis Negotiation Team, Accident Reconstruction Team, Drug Recognition Expert, Firearms Instructor, Arrest Control Tactics Instructor, Less-Lethal Instructor, and many others.

Officers are provided with everything they will need to carry out their duties except for a few small items like boots, flashlights, and a patrol bag. Officers are issued uniforms, ballistic vests (including external vest carriers after completion of the academy), duty belts, handcuffs, a baton, pepper spray, Taser, a duty sidearm, a patrol rifle, and magazines.

We do have a take home car program where Patrol Officers are allowed to take their vehicles home between their shifts on their working days. Specialty units like Investigations, Drug Enforcement, and School Resource Officers all have take home vehicles.

Yes, you can! JPD allows officers to have full beards if they are well maintained, and you can have visible tattoos below the neck if they are not offensive.

Depending on your hiring process, there are a lot of things you can do to prepare and there are resources available for you. If you’re concerned about taking a physical test, knowing what the standards are, testing yourself before the hiring process, and then looking for ways to improve would be helpful. If you’re worried about the written exam there are study guides and practice tests that are available. If it’s the oral board that has you nervous, there are print and video resources, both free and paid, that can help you feel more confident.

At a minimum, you can call our recruitment line, 907-500-0640, and ask to speak to someone about your concerns and we will do our best to help you get prepared. If you are in town, we can even get you set up with a ride-along!

Juneau is very supportive towards public safety. Our City Managers, City Assembly, and the residents of Juneau have repeatedly shown their support for this department, even when departments in other jurisdictions were experiencing a lack of support.

Sworn employees receive a minimum of 80 hours of training per year through our 40-hour training blocks. Civilian employees also receive on-going training during the 40-hour blocks when topics are pertinent to their work. Employees with ancillary duties (SWAT, Crisis Negotiation, Explosive Ordnance Disposal, etc.) get additional training each month.