Of the Municipality’s 1,955 square miles, approximately 194 are in the Anchorage Police Department (APD) service area. The rest of the area includes miles of state and national forests and mountainous terrain.

In 1998, Anchorage citizens saw APD begin the transition from a traditional style of policing to a more pro-active approach, known as community-based policing. Since then, the Anchorage Police Department has continued to move forward with this concept, with an emphasis on problem-solving in Anchorage neighborhoods. At the end of 1999, the police department had 346 officers and 168 civilian personnel.

Anchorage has a crime rate of 5,034 per 100,000 population. In the last four years, property crime is down 30 percent and violent crime was down 35 percent.

The Anchorage police department supports specialized units, such as the K-9 and emergency response teams. The department also promotes the Crime Stoppers program, which has paid out more than $149,000 in rewards to tipsters since its inception. The Neighborhood Watch/Operation I.D. program continues to grow with 82 neighborhoods added in the last six years.

Today, as the largest police department in Alaska, APD has several specialized units including: K-9, Crisis Intervention and Response Team, Homicide Response Team, Hostage Negotiations Team, Bomb Team, Identification, Data Systems, Records, Traffic, and Crime Prevention. APD’s Homicide Response Team has been recognized nationally for their techniques and solvability rate.

The Anchorage Fire Department has 11 fire stations, including the community of Eagle River. The department staff has 196 fire fighters, 39 fire fighter paramedics, 12 dispatchers, 12 fire prevention personnel, 5 mechanics, and many training, administrative, and support personnel.

Each medic unit carries an Advanced Life Support Paramedic and a fire fighter EMT (Emergency Medical Technician). Anchorage is the 1996 National Fire Prevention Association’s Safe Cities Champion, and the Anchorage Fire Department manages the "Learn Not To Burn" program within local schools.