State takes steps to combat rising crime rate

Attorney General Jahna Lindemuth says the state is taking concrete steps to implement its Public Safety Action Plan to resolve rising crime issues in Alaska, as documented in the 2017 Uniform Crime Report.

That report, “doesn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know,” Lindemuth said Aug. 15. “But it does confirm the concerns we voiced last year.”

“Our crime problem will not be solved overnight but we are making progress” she said.

Gov. Bill Walker directed Lindemuth last August to work with other state agencies to identify concrete steps the state can take to help reverse the crime trend that has risen since 2013.

Walker introduced a budget prioritizing public safety, including a $30 million increase in public safety funding that includes funds for more prosecutors, criminal investigators and substance abuse treatment.

“After years of cuts to public safety agencies, we said ‘no more’,” the governor said.  “We will continue to champion public safety for a safer Alaska.”

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Actions being taken are detailed in the Public Safety Action Plan, which was updated on May 16 and is online at http://law.alaska.gov/pdf/admin/PublicSafetyActionPlan-update2.pdf

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