Welcome to the home of the
Boise Airport Police Department.
HISTORY & DEVELOPMENT:
Police services for Boise Airport were originally
provided by the Boise Police Department. Many newly hired BPD
Officers in the 1970's and 80's began their careers working at the
airport.
Boise PD provided the FAA mandated
protection for the airport, and also used the airport as a training
grounds for new officers. Officers would work at the airport under
the supervision of a Sergeant until openings occurred in the patrol
division. Most then transferred to patrol. Some who stayed became
the earliest Airport Police Officers.
The Boise Airport Director recognized the need to develop a
Police organization dedicated to "airport" law
enforcement. Thus, the Boise Airport Police Department was
formed in December 1992, under the direction of an Airport Police
Supervisor who reported to the Airport Director. Initially the
department consisted of a Supervisor and seven Officers.
PERSONNEL & STAFFING:
The Airport Police Dept. is staffed 24 hours a day by
approximately 25 full time officers, assisted by part-time officers
and K-9 units. Airport police
officers are required to be certified law enforcement officers
through the state of Idaho, and all our officers hold at least
basic POST certification. Our part-time officers are either
currently working for another police department or are recently
retired from neighboring law enforcement agencies.
Officers are trained to the First Responder level through the
Idaho Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians. The airport has a
"Heart-Start" electronic defibrillator and basic first aid
equipment which the officers use when responding to medical
emergencies. All officers are trained in the M-26 Air-taser gun,
which is the newest less than lethal tool that is used widespread
by law enforcement agencies across the nation. All airport
officers are City of Boise employees and are hired through
the City of Boise Human Resources
Department at 601 W. Idaho Street, Boise, Idaho 83702,
208-384-3850
OFFICER DUTIES:
Airport Police Officers (commonly called "APOs") are
trained in the multi-faceted aviation-specific duties required by
the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Transportation
Security Administration (TSA). Officers are required to become very
familiar with federal laws regarding aviation security and
operations.
APOs also perform traditional patrol duties, such as traffic
control and enforcement, taking accident and crime reports, making
arrests for crimes and warrants, and patrol of the airport
properties. Airport Officers respond to calls inside the terminal
building, on the airfield, and to business and traffic concerns
around the perimeter of the airport.
The primary requirement of the Airport Police, by Federal
mandate, is the rapid response to the Security Checkpoint in the
event of a security breach or prohibited items being brought
through. Officers routinely respond to the checkpoint for found
weapons, drugs, and other hazardous items.
In addition to police duties, officers routinely assist with a
myriad of Airport Operations functions. APOs respond onto the
airfield to conduct safety inspections, test runways for braking
friction during snow activity, and to respond to in-flight
emergencies. Some of our officers are trained to operate the
airports heavy equipment, and will assist with snow removal and fog
dispersion operations. Fuel spills, wildlife incursions, debris on
the runway anything that could affect the safety of the flying
public comes into the realm of responsibility of the Airport
Officer.
APOs
acquire a good knowledge of aviation terminology and procedures,
and must learn to communicate with Air Traffic Control. Airport
officers monitor three separate radios in our police vehicles- the
Police channels, the Airports base radio, and the Control Towers
primary frequencies. It can get fairly hectic keeping up with the
radio traffic during an incident on the airport!
GROWTH AND
CHALLENGES:
With the population growth in the Treasure Valley and the
rest of the region many people drive from 1-3 hours to fly from
Boise there has been a tremendous increase in the number of people
using the airport. In 1993 the airport had about 1.5 million
traveling passengers. In 2005 this number had doubled to over 3
million passengers. These figures do not include the all the
"meeters & greeters" that accompanied these passengers. The
Department has recently expanded its staffing in an effort to keep
up with the growth and proportional increase in call volume for the
Airport Police.
In 2003, Boise Airport opened a new terminal building, new
roadways, and changes to parking areas. Because of this, parking
availability is often limited and
traffic can reach nightmare proportions at times. It seems the
airport is constantly "under construction". This provides many
challenges for the officers, especially when dealing with traffic
problems.