Alaska Department Of Public Safety

The Alaska Department Of Public Safety Department Of Public Safety-Alaska Division, doing business as Division Of Fire And Life Safety, is a state government entity that receives federal grants for criminal justice, public safety, forensic analysis, and firefighter support programs as a prime grant recipient. Work is performed in Anchorage, Alaska and across the state.

The Division operates as a subordinate component of the State of Alaska under the Alaska Office of the Governor and acts as a pass-through and program administrator for multiple federal grant streams rather than a traditional federal contractor. Its federal award footprint centers on 184 prime grants and cooperative agreements (93% of recent awards) addressing criminal history record improvement, forensic DNA analysis, violent crime reduction, fire training, and victim assistance programs. The Division receives small purchase orders for Alaska Land Mobile Radio (ALMR) services from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Department of Interior, and FEMA, valued at approximately $26 thousand to $228 thousand per order with no set-aside designations.

The Division's customer base is concentrated in the Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs ecosystem. The top five customer categories account for 69% of recent awards by count, led by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (60 awards), the broader Office of Justice Programs (31 awards), and the Bureau of Justice Statistics (19 awards). The Federal Emergency Management Agency places 16 awards across fire training and firefighter grants. Potential value concentration reveals exposure to the Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration ($9.8 million across 4 awards), the Office of Personnel Management National Background Investigations Bureau ($318 thousand across 2 awards), and the Department of Interior National Park Service Alaska Region ($228 thousand). The combined potential value of all awards stands at $10.8 million, though obligated dollars across all awards total $118.2 million, indicating heavy drawdown of prior-year authorizations.

Recent representative grant work includes a $1.313 million Cooperative Agreement from the Bureau of Justice Statistics under the National Criminal History Improvement Program (CFDA 16.814) awarded July 1, 2026, to improve criminal history reporting to national law enforcement databases (III, NCIC, and NICS) and establish a specialized team for correcting and completing criminal records, processing warrants and protection orders, and capturing fingerprints through four new LiveScan devices. A $1.786 million Cooperative Agreement under the same program (awarded January 1, 2025, through December 31, 2026) funds staff to consolidate duplicate identification records, replace end-of-life equipment, and improve criminal justice information systems. The Division also received a $600 thousand Formula Grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance under the Comprehensive Forensic DNA Analysis Grant Program (CFDA 16.036) awarded October 1, 2024, to enhance the Alaska Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory's DNA testing capabilities and reduce backlogs in forensic evidence analysis. A $416.6 thousand Assistance to Firefighters Grant (CFDA 97.044) from FEMA awarded August 7, 2024, supports procuring equipment, implementing training programs, and improving community resilience through a 24–36 month project. The Division maintains multiple recurring NICS Act Record Improvement and DNA Backlog Reduction grants, as well as Project Safe Neighborhoods and High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas funding from the Bureau of Justice Assistance.

Activity volume has declined in the past two years — 18 awards in 2024, 8 in 2025, and 4 in 2026 to date — reflecting the grant cycle and completion of prior-year initiatives. Fourteen awards with ultimate completion dates in the next twenty-four months carry minimal combined potential value ($100), signaling limited recompete exposure at current pricing; however, the Division administers recurring cooperative agreements with annual or multi-year renewal patterns, particularly through the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the Bureau of Justice Assistance.

The Division subgrants to the Alaska Court System for criminal case management system improvement, eFiling deployment, and records digitization projects. It also acts as a sub-recipient on State Homeland Security Program (SHSP) funding funneled from the State of Alaska to support the Alaska Criminal Intelligence Center and Alaska State Troopers on terrorism prevention initiatives. The source shows 13 sub-awards (7% of recent activity), primarily representing intra-state pass-through arrangements rather than traditional private-sector subcontracting relationships.

Federal contract work is minimal — four purchase orders for ALMR radio services from DEA, Interior, and FEMA totaling approximately $280 thousand across multiple fiscal years — reflecting the Division's primary posture as a federal grant recipient and state public safety administrator rather than a federal services contractor. No private-sector teaming relationships or parent vehicles such as GWACs or BPAs appear in the source material.