The AST is also involved in apprehending fugitives as part of the Alaska Fugitive Task Force, an inter-agency collaborative of Alaska police departments that cooperates with police agencies throughout the United States and less commonly with Interpol in apprehending wanted men and women.

The Alaska State Troopers are assisted in their rural policing duties by Village Public Safety Officers (VPSOs).

After a civil government was formed in 1884, the need for law enforcement became critical in the late 19th century as gold was discovered in Alaska.

Prostitution, gambling, murder, rape, robbery, arson, kidnapping, aggravated assault, and claim jumping incidents were rampant.

Territorial patrolmen only patrolled the main highways of Alaska and did not visit remote areas or regions.

They are charged with statewide law enforcement, prevention of crimes, pursuit and apprehension of offenders, service of civil and criminal process, prisoner transportation, central communications, and search and rescue.

The Alaska State Troopers trace special duties back to the onset of World War II, when Territorial Highway Patrolmen watched for Japanese invaders and saboteurs by guarding and patrolling Alaska seaports, railroad tracks, airports, military posts and other important facilities.

After the 9-11 attacks, Alaska State Troopers were recognized by the US government as being in an extremely valuable and unique position and thus a critical asset to national security.

Alaska actually borders Russia and these factors have caused AST to have a historic role in national security.

AST and ABI in particular, assist the DEA, US Department of Homeland Security, FBI and the BATFE and other federal and military agencies in protecting the US from terrorist activity.

ABI assisted the FBI in 2009 in a high-profile preemptive terrorism investigation that resulted in the arrest of a man and woman who were radical Islamist converts and who were planning terrorist attacks from King Salmon, AK.

AST SWAT Posts: The Statewide Drug Enforcement Unit (SDEU)[5] works by providing funding, resources and direct assistance to a number of agencies operating within the state of Alaska.

There are also civilian staff members tasked with office work, food preparation, maintenance, and janitorial duties.

[citation needed] This legal change was in response to the violent assaults, shootings and even two murders of VPSOs in the line-of-duty on differing occasions.

In addition, VPSOs also carry all other typical tools of a peace officer, such as Kevlar bullet resistant body armor, TASER electronic control weapon, pepper spray, and baton.

VPSOs carry out only basic police tasks such as emergency call response, juvenile offense investigations, protective custody holds of inebriates, assistance to social workers and medical providers, crime scene preservation, issuance of citations for misdemeanor and non-criminal violation offenses, misdemeanor arrests and detention of felony suspects for surrender to troopers, wildlife protection through the Division of Fish and Wildlife Enforcement, engage in search and rescue of missing persons and perform services usually performed by county sheriff's departments in other states, such as prisoner transport.

The program was created to reduce the loss of life due to fires, drowning, lost persons, and the lack of immediate emergency medical assistance in rural communities.

The Village Public Safety Officer Program was designed to train and employ individuals residing in the village as first responders to public safety emergencies such as search and rescue, fire protection, emergency medical assistance, crime prevention and basic law enforcement.

The museum commemorates the Alaska State Troopers and features a variety of historical memorabilia, including a restored 1952 Hudson Hornet patrol car.