How to get police and traffic camera video of a crash in Alaska

The public records law that gets you the video

Alaska Public Records Act, AS 40.25.100 to 40.25.295

State: 10 working days, +10 if justified

“Unless specifically provided otherwise, the public records of all public agencies are open to inspection by the public under reasonable rules during regular office hours” (AS 40.25.110(a)), and “Every person has a right to inspect a public record in the state” except as listed (AS 40.25.120(a)). Public records include items “regardless of format or physical characteristics” developed or received by a public agency and preserved for their informational value or as evidence of its operations (AS 40.25.220(3)), and public agency includes cities and boroughs (AS 40.25.220(2)). Deadlines are set by regulation, and the Department of Administration’s rules cover only executive branch state agencies, such as the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (AS 40.25.123; 2 AAC 96.900(7)); the Department of Law says the legislative and judicial branches and some local governments have their own rules. For a state agency: a request should be in writing (an oral request is deemed denied if not granted within five working days, 2 AAC 96.310); describe the records in enough detail to locate them (2 AAC 96.315); “as soon as practicable, but not later than the 10th working day after the date the agency receives a request,” the agency must furnish the disclosable records and give “the specific legal authority and specific facts supporting nondisclosure” of anything withheld (2 AAC 96.325(a)). It may extend once by up to 10 more working days, with written notice in the first period, only for listed reasons: records in separate field offices, a voluminous request, an absent employee, a peak workload, or a need to consult legal counsel (2 AAC 96.325(d)); a longer extension needs your written agreement or the Attorney General’s approval in extraordinary circumstances (2 AAC 96.325(e), (g)). Time waiting for you to arrange payment does not count (2 AAC 96.325(c)). If no response arrives in time, “the requester may consider the request denied” (2 AAC 96.325(f)). A working day excludes weekends and state holidays (2 AAC 96.900(10)). Fees: copying may not exceed the agency’s standard unit cost (AS 40.25.110(b)); a copy of a record in the electronic form the agency keeps may not exceed the agency’s actual incremental costs (AS 40.25.115(c)); if one requester’s requests take more than five person-hours in a month, the agency must charge the actual personnel cost, paid before release (AS 40.25.110(c)); the Department of Law says the first five hours are then included and that agencies do not charge for reviewing records for protected information. A public interest fee waiver is limited to $500 in 12 months and is not available to someone seeking records relevant to their own litigation with a public agency (2 AAC 96.370). No statute sets a fee for video. The Department of Public Safety says “Most requests for police reports have no cost and most video, photo, or audio requests are charged $36.49 per request,” and contacts you before processing if a charge applies. A pending bill on audio and video records and their fees (HB 377) has not been enacted.

Police body camera and dashcam video

No bodycam statute found; APRA applies

We searched every title of the Alaska Statutes and found no statute on police body-worn or vehicle camera recordings, so the Public Records Act and agency policy govern. For the Alaska State Troopers and other Department of Public Safety officers, Operating Procedures Manual chapter 241 (effective May 1, 2024) covers hand-held devices, body-worn cameras and vehicle video. Officers “shall make every effort to record” interactions with the public during traffic enforcement, arrests and other listed situations (241.300(A)). “Members of the public and other entities may gain access to MAVR recordings through the Alaska Public Records Act and discovery in criminal, civil, and administrative proceedings” (241.320(D)); recordings “are public records” released under the Act and chapter 206, with redactions by trained staff (241.330(A)); “Unless appropriate to further an investigation, non-authorized civilians shall not be allowed to review recordings at scenes” (241.320(Q)). Retention (241.350): criminal evidence recordings as long as necessary under statutes of limitation, case status and Department of Law advice; civil evidence recordings, including those a non-state third party has asked DPS to preserve for litigation, 26 months or until the litigation is resolved, whichever is longer; violation (non-criminal citation) recordings 26 months; non-evidence recordings, such as traffic stops with no citation or warning and routine assistance, “90 days unless specially marked for a longer retention period.” Another part of the same chapter says such recordings are “preserved for at least 180 days” before automatic purging unless litigation is pending or reasonably anticipated, and that an officer should anticipate litigation when “notified of a request from a state agency, state employee, or a third party to preserve the evidence for use in a potential criminal or civil suit” (241.320(M)); plan on the shorter period and send a preservation request at once. A recording subject to a records request must be kept until provided without redactions or until appeals of a denial are exhausted (241.320(M)), and a state agency may not destroy a record whose release it denied for at least 60 working days after the denial or while an appeal is pending (2 AAC 96.335(g)). Released records must omit victim and witness home and business addresses and phone numbers (AS 12.61.110). Drone images may be kept only if needed for an investigation or prosecution, for training, or by law, and images that may not be kept are confidential and not public records (AS 18.65.903). City police set their own rules. Example: the Anchorage Police Department takes requests for “audio, video, or photos” through its online Public Records Center, separately from documents and one case number per request, and its FAQ says “Evidence collected by the police during an investigation, including but not limited to video from private sources and photographs, is not a public record required to be disclosed. AMC 3.90.040C.”

When police can hold video back

May be withheld if it could interfere

The Act excepts “records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that the production of the law enforcement records or information” (A) “could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings”; (B) “would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication”; (C) “could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of the personal privacy of a suspect, defendant, victim, or witness”; (D) could reasonably be expected to disclose a confidential source; (E) would disclose confidential investigation or prosecution techniques and procedures; (F) would disclose guidelines whose disclosure could reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law; or (G) “could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of an individual” (AS 40.25.120(a)(6)). The words “only to the extent” mean the exception reaches the harmful part, and a state agency must release the disclosable parts of a record that can reasonably be separated (2 AAC 96.330(a)). The statute sets no date when the exception ends. DPS policy is more specific: “Absent exigent circumstances, MAVR recordings that are associated with active criminal, civil, or administrative court proceedings, or open criminal investigations should not be released until the court proceedings and/or investigation is closed” (OPM 241.330(B)), so a pending DUI case, a traffic case or a lawsuit over the crash can delay release. The DPS Public Information Office may release critical incident video, such as an officer-involved shooting, earlier (241.330(C)). Separately, a record that is public “remains a public record subject to disclosure and copying even if the record is used for, included in, or relevant to litigation, including law enforcement proceedings, involving a public agency,” but a party to that litigation, or someone requesting for a party, gets it under the court’s or tribunal’s rules of procedure instead (AS 40.25.122).

Do traffic cameras in Alaska record?

No DOT&PF recording statement found

The Department of Transportation and Public Facilities shows road camera images on Alaska 511 (511.alaska.gov), where you can view and save cameras by location. We found no official DOT&PF or Alaska 511 statement on whether camera images are recorded or how long anything is kept: the 511 help page describes viewing and saving cameras and is silent on recording. If a state road camera may have caught your crash, ask DOT&PF at once under the Public Records Act with the highway, milepost or nearest crossroad, direction and time window, and ask whether any image or recording exists. DOT&PF is an executive branch agency, so the 10-working-day deadline applies (2 AAC 96.325). The Department of Law’s list of public agencies under the Act shows DOT&PF as including its Central, Northern and Southcoast Regions and tells requesters to identify the agency whose records they seek, so if you are unsure which office runs a camera, ask through DOT&PF’s Ask DOT form or dot.ask@alaska.gov first. City or borough cameras belong to that local government, so send it a separate request, and fast. Example from an official page: the Municipality of Anchorage’s Traffic Engineering Department says its traffic signal cameras offer no public live video and that “Each traffic signal camera temporarily stores video for about 3–5 days before it is automatically overwritten” (its written policy, effective October 15, 2025, says 3 to 7 days depending on storage, and footage not downloaded is not retained). If APD has a case number, APD handles the footage and you request it through the APD Records Center; if APD did not respond or open a case, email TrafficSignalsRequest@anchorageak.gov with the date, time, intersection, crash description, vehicle descriptions and direction of travel.

Red-light and speed cameras

No red-light or speed camera law found

We found no Alaska statute that authorizes or bans red-light or speed cameras. SB 235 would bar a municipality of 25,000 or more from banning “automated traffic safety cameras,” defined as red-light, railroad crossing and speed cameras that photograph a vehicle’s front or rear; its committee substitute, CSSB 235(CRA), was referred to the Senate Transportation Committee on March 4, 2026, where its bill page still shows it. HB 282, with the same title (“An Act relating to municipal regulation of automated traffic safety cameras”), shows the House Transportation Committee as its status on March 20, 2026. Neither has been enacted. The sponsor statement for SB 235 describes “an outdated requirement that red light enforcements must be done strictly by police officers who must directly serve tickets in person”; we did not find that requirement in the Alaska Statutes and do not state its source. We found no state program, so ask the city or borough whether it runs any camera at the intersection.

If your request is denied

State: appeal to agency, 60 work days

For a state agency such as DPS or DOT&PF, a written denial must give its reasons and legal grounds and enclose 2 AAC 96.335 to 96.350, and must say you may appeal to the agency, may go straight to superior court for an injunction, and need no appeal bond (2 AAC 96.335(c), (d)). The administrative appeal is a written appeal “mailed or hand-delivered to the agency head within 60 working days after the denial is issued,” giving the date of the denial, the name and address of the person who issued it and the records denied; if the agency never answered, the 60 working days run from the end of its response time and the appeal must say so and identify the request (2 AAC 96.340). The agency head must decide in writing “not later than the 10th working day after the close of the record on appeal,” extendable by up to 30 working days, and a denial on appeal is the final agency decision and must say you may appeal to superior court (2 AAC 96.345, 96.350; AS 40.25.124). That court appeal must be filed within 30 days from the date the decision is mailed or otherwise distributed to you (Alaska Appellate Rule 602(a)(2)). At any time, without first using the agency appeal, you may ask the superior court to order a person who denies or obstructs inspection of a public record to stop (AS 40.25.125). Cities and boroughs set their own appeal procedures (AS 40.25.123(f)(2) excludes municipalities from the state regulations), so ask the local agency for its process; the superior court injunction under AS 40.25.125 is available against any custodian. The Department of Law says it “does not enforce the APRA” and that a requester who believes an agency, such as a municipality, violated the Act might want to contact a private attorney.

What to do now

1. 1

   Send the records request today

   For a trooper crash, use the DPS online records portal; for a city crash, the police department’s records unit. Ask for all body camera, dash camera and in-car video and photos, with the date, time, place and case number.

2. 2

   Ask in writing that the video be preserved

   DPS policy keeps recordings with no evidence value as little as 90 days, but treats a third party’s request to preserve evidence for a lawsuit as a reason to keep them 26 months or longer.

3. 3

   Ask DOT&PF about road cameras now

   Give the highway, milepost, direction and time window, ask whether anything was recorded, and post the crash on the bounty board. In Anchorage, city signal cameras overwrite video in about 3 to 5 days, so ask APD or Traffic Engineering the same day.

4. 4

   If a state agency denies you, appeal within 60 working days

   Write to the agency head (2 AAC 96.340). After a final denial, appeal to superior court within 30 days, or seek an injunction at any time (AS 40.25.125).

Frequently asked questions