Gov. Bill Walker has announced a public safety action plan in the works since August.
The plan focuses on four main areas: fairness and efficiency in the criminal justice system, resource needs of Alaska’s public safety agencies, improving the system for addressing mental health and substance abuse issues and addressing immediate challenges of the opioid epidemic and drug trafficking.
The state’s goal is to address what appear to be the main causes of increased crime, including stemming the tide of drug imports into the state, adding resources to the criminal justice system to keep up with the rise in crime, and providing timely treatment to those with substance abuse and mental health issues,
Walker said public safety is a priority for me, that Alaskans don’t feel safe right now and that needs to change. He said he has asked public safety agencies to work with law enforcement partners to develop a plan to reverse the rise in crime, and they came back with nearly 60 ideas to build a safer state.
The plan includes the recent U.S. Department of Justice’s statewide Anti-Violent Crime Stretegy, which the Walker administration says will result in better coordination and use of law enforcement resources between the state, federal agencies and Anchorage in particular. Also included in Walker’s plan are actions focused on improving communication with rural tribal law enforcement partners and empowering rural communities to address public safety issues within their communities. This would involve strengthening the Village Public Safety Officer program, forming agreements with more tribes to divert low-level offenses to tribal courts, and developing a communication plan to improve coordination among state and local authorities.
Meanwhile in Juneau, the Legislature in special session is working on Senate Bill 54, the revision to Senate Bill 91, the crime bill that many feel needs revision.
Rep. Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, noted in her column this week for The Cordova Times, that increased crime across Alaska has made public safety a growing concern, and warned that a sustainable fiscal plan and strong public safety are inexorably linked. Stutes expressed that legislators would soon finish their work on criminal justice reform and get to work on fiscal legislation, including the governor’s payroll tax bill, which would bring millions of dollars into state coffers.
