text: What's really astonishing is that Anchorage police do such a professional job even with one of the lowest levels of police staffing in the nation. To be simply be at the average for comparably sized cities in the Lower 48, Anchorage would have nearly double the number of officers and support staff it has. And APD doesn't have the advantage other city police departments do, that of being able to rely on a nearby county sheriff's office for backup.