These Cops are Supposed to Protect Rural Villages. They’re in the Suburbs Instead.
Many remote Alaska Native villages have no law enforcement at all. But state troopers can be found in wealthier, and mainly non-Native, suburbs, where growing communities have resisted paying for their own police department.
Local Reporting Network
Alaska’s Uneven Rural Law Enforcement System Often Leaves Remote Villages With No Cops
A tiny village got a police officer. He’s never had to make an arrest. Meanwhile, larger communities with more crime have often been left behind.
Local Reporting Network
After the Last Cop Killed Himself, All the Criminals Have to Do Is Hide
Days before his death in 2005, Simeon Askoak told officials how an Alaskan rural policing program was broken. His village hasn’t had another permanent cop since.
Local Reporting Network
Justice Department Will Fund More Prosecutors, Jails and Cops in Rural Alaska
To improve what it calls a public safety emergency, the DOJ detailed how it will spend $10.5 million. Alaska Native advocates want long-term reforms to increase their role in local justice systems as well.
She Leapt From a Moving Car to Escape Her Rapist. Then, She Waited 18 Years for an Arrest.
Anna Sattler’s rape kit sat untested since 2001 as Alaska’s backlog got worse. Now, an ex-Iditarod musher faces charges, and she’s speaking publicly about the attack for the first time.
Local Reporting Network
Clergy Abused an Entire Generation in This Village. With New Traumas, Justice Remains Elusive.
Long before city officials said they had no choice but to hire criminals as cops, justice evaded the Norton Sound village of Stebbins and neighboring St. Michael.
Local Reporting Network
Cops in One Village Have Been Convicted of 70 Crimes. Here’s What They Had to Say About It.
The seven officers in Stebbins, Alaska, explain their criminal records and what it’s like to serve as a police officer there.
The Village Where Every Cop Has Been Convicted of Domestic Violence
Dozens of convicted criminals have been hired as cops in Alaska communities. Often, they are the only applicants. In Stebbins, every cop has a criminal record, including the chief.
Local Reporting Network
“Enough Is Enough”: Native Leaders Ask William Barr to Help Fix Alaska’s Law Enforcement Crisis
At a gathering in Anchorage, the U.S. attorney general said he would work to provide greater security in rural areas.
Local Reporting Network
Alaska Villages Have Some of the Highest Sexual Assault Rates but 1 in 3 Has No Police
Sexual abuse runs rampant, public safety resources are scarce, and Governor Mike Dunleavy wants to cut the budget.
Local Reporting Network