The Public Safety Department administers all NAB activities in relation to promotion of public safety in the region, firefighting, search and rescue, administration of the NAB’s Village Public Safety Officer program, and any other functions incidental to the improvement of regional Public safety.
Responsibilities
The Public Safety Department shall work to improve all aspects of public safety and law enforcement for the people of the Northwest Arctic Borough by identifying public safety needs, identifying resources available, and establishing and implementing strategies and a comprehensive public safety plan to meet those needs.
Links of Interest
- Department of Justice Community Oriented Policing Services
- US Department of Justice
- Alaska Crime Statistics
About the Director of Public Safety
Tessa Unaliin Baldwin was raised in Kotzebue. Her family is from Ambler and Kiana. Tessa was appointed by Mayor Moto as the Director of Public Safety in November of 2021.
Tessa graduated from Mt. Edgecumbe High School, there after she received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, San Diego in 2016. She also has a Master’s in Advanced Clinical Social Work from Columbia University. After graduating she moved back home to Kotzebue where she worked as a mental health therapist serving the communities of Noatak and Kivalina.
Tessa also has a background in tribal governments where she has worked for the National Congress of American Indians in Washington D.C. She sits on the National Indian Child Welfare Association’s board of directors and has been appointed to state boards like the Statewide Suicide Prevention Council. In her spare time Tessa teaches at Chukchi College and coaches cheerleading at Kotzebue Middle High School.
Contact Information
Tessa Baldwin
Director of Public Safety
Masters in Social Work from Columbia University, BA from the University of California, San Diego
Email
Village Public Safety Officers
VACANT
VPSO Coordinator
Cole Thurmond
VPSO
