Alaska Progress Report

Alaska has two of top three most dangerous cities for women

Forbes takes a look at data from the FBI Uniform Crime Report and uses the rate of rape as an indicator of the most dangerous cities for women. Anchorage ranks #2 and Fairbanks #3 in the list:

"For a metro area that the FBI measures at just 38,307, an incredibly high rate of rape (more than double the national metropolitan average) lands Fairbanks among the top three most dangerous cities for women in the United States at 193 reported rapes per 100,000 residents... Meanwhile, according to a 2011 survey, more than 37% of Alaskan women report that they’ve suffered some form of sexual assault in their lives.

"And Fairbanks isn’t the only Alaskan city to top our ranking.  Anchorage suffers the highest violent crime rate in the state, (812 reported for every 100,000 residents) in addition to a staggeringly high incidence of rape. According to numbers from the FBI Uniform Crime Report, more than 85 rapes are committed annually per 100,000 citizens, which makes Anchorage No. 2 on our list."

2010 Trooper reports spotlight rural sex crimes, alcohol abuse

The 2010 Annual Report for the Alaska State Troopers is out, and the historical data for the period 2006-2010 shows offenses have increased over the past few years in almost all of the ten categories tracked. Yet in almost every category the number of offenses in 2010 are still fewer than the high point earlier in the period tracked.

In sheer numbers assault is the leader with 3,775 offenses in 2010, significantly higher than any other year 2006-2009. Theft is the only other category to set a high-water mark in that period. Criminal mischief is the only category to decline 2009 to 2010. More disturbing is the unequal distribution of crimes. The Anchorage Daily News reports that the C detachment, which covers Western and Southwestern Alaska from Kotzebue to Kodiak to the Aleutians, has an extremely disproportionate share of offenses, especially in the areas of sexual assault and sexual abuse of a minor: about half of all offenses in each category statewide are recorded in C detachment's area of operations.

Alcohol, not surprisingly, is often a contributing factor, as the 2010 annual report of the Alaska Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Enforcement makes clear: "Of all cases initiated by the Alaska State Troopers in 2010, 37% involved drugs and/or alcohol. Of all violent crime cases, 61.9% involved drugs and/or alcohol... Alaska’s criminal justice professionals recognize that alcohol is the primary substance of abuse in Alaska and is the leading cause of violent, suicidal, and accidental deaths, especially in rural areas."

Alaska has highest per capita gun death rate

According to the Violence Policy Center Alaska had the highest per capita rate of gun deaths in the country in 2008, the most recent year for which data was available (really?). Data is from the federal Centers for Disease Control:

"The analysis reveals that the five states with the highest per capita gun death rates were Alaska, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, and Wyoming. Each of these states had a per capita gun death rate far exceeding the national per capita gun death rate of 10.38 per 100,000 for 2008. Each state has lax gun laws and higher gun ownership rates. By contrast, states with strong gun laws and low rates of gun ownership had far lower rates of firearm-related death. Ranking last in the nation for gun death was Hawaii, followed by Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York and New Jersey (tie)."

Alaska is listed as having a gun ownership rate of 60.6 percent with 20.6 gun deaths per 100,000 people. Hawaii had the lowest rate at 3.2 gun deaths, with a household gun ownership rate of 9.7 percent. What would be more informative would be to break the rate down by homicide, suicide and accidental. Suicide is the most common type of violent death in Alaska.

Anchorage fifth most dangerous city in US

And the Oscar for Most Dubious List goes to... Forbes Magazine, for their list of the most dangerous cities in America. Anchorage is ranked number five based on the number of violent crimes per 100,000 residents as reported in the FBI's Uniform Crime Report. The envelope, please:

• #5: Anchorage, Alaska, 813 violent crimes per 100,000 population.
• #4: Flint, Michigan, population 419,608 and 827 crimes per.
• #3: Springfield, Illinois, population 206,000 and 855 crimes per.
• #2: Memphis, Tennessee, population 1,313,722 and 1,006 crimes per.
• #1: Detroit, Michigan, population 1,895,974 and 1,111 crimes per.

Forbes's assessment of Anchorage: "With 813 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, Anchorage has a somewhat higher crime rate than cities of comparable size, and a rate that is double the size of Alaska as a whole. It is the largest city in the state, but it also has the largest rate of forcible rape, which contributes to Anchorage’s high crime statistics. Property crime, while not factored into our survey, is also double Alaska’s rate. Methamphetamine use has been a perennial problem in Anchorage and elsewhere in the state, and although laws have been passed to limit access to the pharmaceuticals necessary to manufacture meth in the state, a steady supply of the drug is still flowing in from Mexico."

 

1,857 Alaskan kids in foster care

The Alaska Office of Children's Services has a new video out promoting foster care. OCS is required to track statistics and posts updates monthly on another page. There are about 1,200 Alaskan kids in foster care in an average month. The May 15 report breaks out a total of 1,857 children in placement by region within the state as of April 1:

• Northern region, 330 children, 18% of total.
• Anchorage region, 626, 34%.
• Southeast, 179, 10%.
• Southcentral, 528, 28%.
• Western, 210, 11%.

An annual report details the substantiated allegations that land kids in foster care. In 2010 there were 2,871 unique victims of at least one substantiated allegation of harm. There were a total of 4,655 substantiated allegations, 75% of which were neglect, 14% mental injury, 8% physical abuse and 3% sexual abuse.

Violent and property offenses increase in Anchorage

The April 2011 UAA Justice Center Research Overview presents "...information on serious violent and property crimes reported to Anchorage police for the period 2003 to 2009. The data were collected as part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR). The data presented here are limited to Part I offenses of the UCR, which include four violent crimes (murder and non-negligent homicide, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) and four property crimes (burglary, larceny theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson).

"...Overall the volume of violent crimes reported to Anchorage police increased significantly between 2003 and 2009. Robbery rates increased by 50% and aggravated assault increased 39% during the period. The rate of increase for forcible rape was significant (11%). Over the same timeframe, the murder rate dropped 21%, from 6.27 per 100,000 population in 2003 to 4.94 per 100,000 in 2009. Anchorage property crime rates declined between 2003 and 2009, with the largest declines seen in motor vehicle theft (-31%) and larceny theft (-18%). A decline was also seen for arson rates (-17%), but an increase of 9% was seen for burglary rates over the period."

The report notes that, "...for five cities of similar size also located in the western United States... in 2009 Anchorage had a substantially higher rate of violent crime... due in large measure to Anchorage's exceptionally high rates of aggravated assault and forciable rape." On the other hand, "Overall, Anchorage had the lowest property crime rates."

Alaska ranked last for sensible gun laws, third for gun violence

According to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence: "Arizona, Alaska and Utah do not have a single sensible gun law on their books." The three states were awarded zero points out of a possible 100 in the ranking, while California came in first with 80. In a state where the difference between a conservative and a liberal is that a liberal carries a .40 caliber or smaller, that's not a surprise.

The detailed state scorecard shows that we were awarded 2 points for not allowing guns on campus, but two points were deducted for not requiring a concealed carry permit. The Kaiser Foundation ranked Alaska third among states for the rate of gun deaths in 2007, with a rate of 17.8 per 100,000 population. The Violence Policy Center claims that gun deaths are closely correlated with gun ownership, and Alaska's household gun ownership that year exceeded 60 percent, at or near the top.

A rate of 17.8 for a populaton of about 700,000 means a total of about 125 gun deaths that year. For a small population like ours, the rate will probably vary significantly by year. This was also four years ago; it would be interesting to see more recent data, if it exists.

Alaska criminals have 6th highest recidivism rate

A new study from the Pew Center on the States finds that Alaska has the sixth highest recidivism rate in the nation. What is recidivism and how is it measured? Glad you asked:

"Recidivism is the act of reengaging in criminal offending despite having been punished. The prison recidivism rate—the subject of this report—is the proportion of persons released from prison who are rearrested, reconvicted or returned to custody within a specific time period. Typically, recidivism studies follow released offenders for three years following their release from prison or placement on probation. Offenders are returned to prison for one of two reasons:

1. For committing a new crime that results in a new conviction or;
2. For a technical violation of supervision, such as not reporting to their parole or probation officer or failing a drug test."

The report compares recidivism in the states between two periods, 1999-2002 and 2004-2007. Unfortunately Alaska is one of states where there is no data for the first period. For the latter period there were 11,619 releases of felons that resulted in a recidivism rate of 50.4%, versus a national average of 43.3% in the same period. The worst rate was 61.2% in Minnesota (WTF?) and the lowest was 22.8% in Oregon.

What to do about it? The Institute of Social and Economic Research has some suggestions: "We found that the state could both reduce the number of Alaskans in prison or jail and save considerable money over the next 20 years, by adding about $4 million a year to the $17 million it currently spends to keep people from returning to prison— or prevent them from ever going there at all."

Criminal deportations surge in Pacific Northwest

From the Associated Press via the Anchorage Daily News: "Deportations of illegal immigrants with criminal records from Alaska, Oregon and Washington this past year jumped by nearly 40 percent, while overall removals dropped for the first time in five years, according to new data released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The data, from Oct. 1, 2008, to Sept. 30, 2009, show that 10,793 people overall were deported from the Pacific Northwest, a drop of 117 compared with the previous year.

"That marks the first time in the last five years that deportations from the Northwest have dropped. Deportations had increased from more than 4,000 in 2005 to nearly 11,000 in 2008. But removals of people with criminal records went from more than 3,100 to nearly 4,500 between 2008 and 2009 -- a jump of 39.7 percent. Since 2005, criminal removals have more than doubled...

"Nationwide, deportations jumped to more than 387,000 in the same period -- an increase of 65 percent over the previous year."

Alaska child abuse and neglect deaths, spending

A new report from Every Child Matters titled We Can Do Better takes a state by state look at child abuse and neglect: "It includes information collected through the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System, which is supported by the Children’s Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families. It also includes data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau. Highlights show:

"Child deaths attributed to abuse or neglect vary significantly by state. Kentucky had the highest rate of death due to child abuse and neglect in 2007 – 41 deaths, or a rate of 4.09 per 100,000 children in the state. Other states topping the list include South Dakota (4.08), Florida (3.79), Nebraska (3.59) and Missouri (3.51). States with the lowest rate of child death from abuse or neglect in 2007 are Delaware Rhode Island, Idaho, Maine and Montana...

"There is nearly a 13-fold difference in the amount that states spend per person to address abuse and neglect... The report finds that Rhode Island spends the most per capita – spending $181.34 per person to protect children. Other states that make significant investments in comparison with their counterparts include Pennsylvania ($137.89), Alaska ($129.02), Vermont ($126.31), and California ($121.16). The five states spending the lowest amount on child protection per person include South Carolina ($14.72), Mississippi ($28.82), Maine ($31.88), Nevada ($34.02) and Arkansas ($35.99)...

"Poverty is closely associated with child abuse and neglect... Recent Census figures show that states with the highest levels of children living in poverty are Arizona (26%), New Mexico (26%), Kentucky (24%), Alabama (24%) and Mississippi (24%). States with the lowest levels of child poverty are New Hampshire (9%), Utah (9%), Alaska (10%), Vermont (10%), Maryland (10%) and Connecticut (10%)." Anchorage Daily News story here.