Policing the Alaska State Fair

Aug. 14, 2005

KATE KELLY\Frontiersman reporter

PALMER -- There were only four vehicle accidents at the Alaska State Fair in Palmer last year, which is six less than the two years before that and 10 less than in 2001.

Those figures are significant, say Alaska State Troopers, because that's the main reason they are there each year.

"That's the whole point of the effort, public safety," Trooper Sgt. Robert Cox said Thursday. "This year we'll have 11 troopers working the Fair, which is the same number as the last three years. They're brought in from all across the state for our traffic enforcement team."

Cox said 2,153 traffic stops in the area around the Fair during its 12 days of operation last year resulted in 83 arrests, 2,130 warnings, and 1,759 citations. Most arrests were traffic related, such as driving under the influence incidents or license violations, Cox said.

Security and crowd management on the fairgrounds is the responsibility of the Starplex Corp., which plans to do the same thing it did last year and have up to 40 staff members in roving teams and at the gates during peak times, Starplex CEO Jimmy DeLoretto said.

DeLoretto said Alaska's fair does not warrant as much crowd scrutiny as fairs in other places, though the company does have an emergency-preparedness plan for evacuation if there's a disaster or unexpected event.

"We get bomb threats and stuff elsewhere, so we have to enhance inspections of vehicles for vendors so nothing dangerous or explosive is brought onto the grounds, and check bags carried in by attendees," he said. "This year, with what's going on in Europe and the Middle East we have reasons to be cautious in some places, but not in Alaska."

Contact Kate Kelly at 352-2284.