Fighting property crime: AST CSU had successful 2020

PALMER — The Alaska State Troopers Criminal Suppression Unit was formed in 2014 at the Palmer Post, and reported one of their most successful years in 2020.

The unit of four troopers and one supervising Sergeant worked in conjunction with the Wasilla Police Department, Palmer Police Department, Drug Enforcement Agency and other Federal Agencies and the U.S. Postal Inspection Unit to investigate 669 different incidents.

“When property crimes began to skyrocket in the Mat-Su over the last several years, the Department of Public Safety stood up this specialized unit to track down stolen property and hold the perpetrators accountable,” said Colonel Bryan Barlow, Director of the Alaska State Troopers. “The successes that the Mat-Su CSU had this year can be felt across Southcentral Alaska and were a result of the commitment that these Troopers have to their community along with their tenacity and professionalism. If you plan on stealing from an Alaskan, the State Troopers and our law enforcement partners will find you and arrest you.”

The CSU operates within B Detachment, covering an area from Valdez to Glennallen and the core area of Mat-Su all the way north along the Parks Highway to Talkeetna. The CSU investigates property crimes such as thefts, robberies, burglaries and other related crimes.

“One of the big benefits we have of having this specialized unit out in the Mat-Su Valley where there is a high rate of that property crime is that it allows the CSU Troopers to focus in and really dig down and investigate some of these trends and themes in the different property crimes, which frees up the normal patrol Troopers to be out and responding to more calls and responding to new 911 calls and calls to dispatch and different calls for service. That’s one of the real big benefits is it allows them to really focus in and dive into these property crimes that are generally pretty investigative heavy,” said AST Public Information Officer Austin McDaniel. “One of the biggest drivers of our 2020 successes is, a lot it was the troopers assigned to the unit had a lot of drive to make a difference in their community.”

The CSU reported two large-scale multi-agency operations to combat retail theft in which they seized $2,584 in currency, 11 guns, served 38 warrants and made 29 arrests with help from other local Law Enforcement Agencies. During these two large-scale operations the CSU seized 60.87 grams of methamphetamine, 1 gram of cocaine and 22.73 grams of heroin.

“We always encourage Alaskans to, if you see something suspicious, say something. Give the non emergency line a call, call a trooper or post during normal business hours and make that report because while it may seem like something small to you at the time, it may be that last piece of the puzzle that a trooper or an investigator needs to help solve a big crime or to help make those charges stick on a suspect in the Valley,” said McDaniel.

Additionally, the CSU reported that they were able to disrupt and take down two large-scale fencing operations where stolen goods were sold. The takedown of both illegal fencing operations resulted in two arrests and recovery of several stolen vehicles, including trailers filled with stolen property including ATV's and firearms.

During the entire calendar year of 2020, the 669 incidents investigated by the CSU included 72 thefts, 21 burglaries, 16 vehicle thefts, 13 felony Misconduct Involving Weapons cases, and six robberies. The CSU recovered 101 stolen guns, 25 stolen vehicles and seven stolen ATV’s or snowmachines as well as $475,236 in total recovered property. From those 669 incidents investigated, the CSU made 101 warrant arrests.

“The successes that the CSU had in 2020 is really a testament to that tenacity and drive that these Troopers that are assigned to the unit have,” said McDaniel. “They live in the Mat-Su Valley, they care about their property values, they care about their quality of life, they have family and friends that live out in the Mat-Su Valley so they want to see the property crime rates go down.”

The tip line for Crime Stoppers in the Mat-Su is 745-3333.