Governor introduces anti-crime bills

Gov. Mike Dunleavy introduced a package of anti-crime bills Wednesday, Jan. 22, following commitments made during his State of the State address to the Legislature Tuesday night.

The legislation is intended to close loopholes in state laws and repeal remaining parts of statutes changed by Senate Bill 91, a law change made in 2016 that many blame for stoking up crime,

Four bills introduced Jan. 22 focus on sex offenses; classification and sentencing; pre-trial procedures and bail, and probation and parole.

“Over the past five years crime has skyrocketed and our rates of sexual assault have become the highest in the nation,” Dunleavy said. Alaska’s rate of sexual assault is 132 per 100,000 people, five time higher than the rate in New York City of 28 incidents per 100,000 people,” the governor said in a statement.

Overall crime is up 26 percent, property crime is up 23 percent and violent crime is up 36 percent in the last five years, according to the latest Department of Public Safety Uniform Crime Report, issued in August.

On sexual assault, among several changes the governor’s bill increases penalties for sexual abuse of a minor, makes solicitation on a minor a felony in all cases, and makes indecent viewing or production of a picture a registerable sex offense if it involves a minor.

It also requires a sexual offender to register in Alaska if they are required to register In another state.

On classification and spending, the bill makes it a felony to possess certain controlled substances and insures there are significant periods of incarceration for those engaging in drug trafficking, reversing a lowering of many sentences enacted by SB 91. The bill also increases sentencing ranges that were reduced by SB 91.

On probation reform the bill makes it a felony to remove an ankle bracelet during the pretrial and post-conviction period and increases the length of probation to ensure offenders are sufficiently monitored.

Many parts of the state and particularly Southcentral Alaska have been rocked by soaring crime rates, particularly property crime, in recent years. Police say the primary cause is drug abuse and the need of addicts to obtain money by selling stolen good, but while the began before SB 91 was passed many law enforcement officers, and citizens, felt the lessening of jail time and other changes in the law removed impediments for wrongdoers.

“SB 91 took away too much discretion from judges and eliminated tools for prosecutors and law enforcement to properly respond,” Dunleavy said.

The Legislature has actually modified SB 91 in the last two years to change some of its provisions that were problematic but there is still an overall feeling that state laws had become too lenient.