Crime in Alaska

As of the latest data available, Alaska has one of the highest crime rates per capita in the United States, particularly in the categories of violent crime and property crime.{{cite web | title=Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program | website=Federal Bureau of Investigation | date=2022 | url=https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/ucr | access-date=2023-10-20}} The state often tops the charts for rates of sexual assault, domestic violence, and suicide.{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1985/09/03/at-roads-end-theres-no-one-left-to-flee-from/|title=At Road's End, There's No One Left To Flee From|website=chicagotribune.com|access-date=16 April 2018}}{{cite web|url=http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/akcrime.htm|title=Alaska Crime Rates 1960 - 2016|first=Christopher|last=Effgen|website=www.disastercenter.com|access-date=16 April 2018}}{{Cite web|last=Purinton|first=Lisa|date=September 2020|title=Crime in Alaska 2019|url=https://dps.alaska.gov/getmedia/711689b9-fe2f-4d89-b232-fc8e2262a37e/Crime-in-Alaska-2019|website=Alaska Department of Public Safety, Statewide Services}}

Violent crimes, which include murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault, occur at a significantly higher rate in Alaska compared to the national average. Some areas, particularly rural communities, face staggering rates of violent crime.{{cite web | title=Explaining Patterns of Crime in the Native Villages of Alaska | website=Office of Justice Programs | url=https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/explaining-patterns-crime-native-villages-alaska | access-date=2023-10-20}}

The incidence of property crimes like burglary, theft, and car theft is also notably higher in Alaska than in the rest of the United States. Property crime rates are often exacerbated by the state's unique geographical features, which can make it easier for criminals to evade capture.

The vast geography and isolated communities in Alaska create logistical challenges for law enforcement agencies. Response times can be long, and the costs of maintaining a robust police presence in remote areas are high.{{cite web | last=Hopkins | first=Kyle | title=These Cops are Supposed to Protect Rural Villages. They’re in the Suburbs Instead. | website=ProPublica | date=2019-12-05 | url=https://www.propublica.org/article/looking-for-alaskas-rural-police-force-check-the-suburbs | access-date=2023-10-20}}

Alcohol and drug abuse are pervasive issues in Alaska, contributing significantly to both violent and non-violent crimes.

file:North Slope Borough PD.jpg police station]]

To tackle the challenges of geography and isolation, some Alaskan communities have turned to community policing models, in which local residents are trained and empowered to take on some law enforcement duties.{{cite web | title=POLICING RURAL ALASKA (FROM ALTERNATIVE POLICING STYLES: CROSS-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES, P 45-70, 1993, MARK FINDLAY AND UGLJESA ZVEKIC, EDS. -- SEE NCJ-146911) | website=Office of Justice Programs | url=https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/policing-rural-alaska-alternative-policing-styles-cross-cultural | access-date=2023-10-20}}

The federal government has stepped in to provide additional resources, including funding and manpower, to combat crime in the state.{{cite web | title=U.S. attorney general vows continued support to address rural Alaska public safety | website=Alaska Beacon | date=2023-08-24 | url=https://alaskabeacon.com/briefs/u-s-attorney-general-vows-continued-support-to-address-rural-alaska-public-safety/ | access-date=2023-10-20}}

New technologies, such as drones and advanced communication systems, are being adopted to overcome the challenges of geography and improve response times.{{cite web | agency=Associated Press | title=Alaska court rules police need warrants for aerial surveillance, including drones | website=Anchorage Daily News | date=2020-09-09 | url=https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/crime-courts/2020/09/09/alaska-court-rules-police-need-warrants-for-aerial-surveillance-including-drones/ | access-date=2023-10-20}}{{cite web | title=Recommendations for {{as written|Succe|sful [sic]}} Public Safety Service Delivery | url=https://www.avcp.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Public-Safety-Recommendations-for-Rural-Alaska_5.18.20.pdf | access-date=2023-10-20}}

One of the most infamous criminals during Alaska's pre-statehood era was Soapy Smith. He was killed in 1898 during a shootout on Juneau Wharf.Smith, Jeff (2009). Alias Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel, Klondike Research. p. 22. {{ISBN|0-9819743-0-9}}

• Robert Hansen was a notorious criminal who abducted, sexually assaulted, and killed between 17 and possibly more than 30 women in and around Anchorage, Alaska.{{cite web|url=http://www.adn.com/article/20140522/butcher-baker-robert-hansen-moved-anchorage-medical-treatment|title='Butcher Baker' Robert Hansen moved to Anchorage for medical treatment|website=Anchorage Daily News|access-date=16 April 2018}}
• In 1983, Louis D. Hastings carried out an attack in McCarthy, Alaska, killing 6 people and wounding 2 more. His aim was to sabotage the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System.
• Michael Silka is known for the murder of as many as nine individuals in the areas surrounding Fairbanks and Manley Hot Springs in 1984.
• James Dale Ritchie was responsible for the deaths of at least five people and the wounding of a police officer in Anchorage in 2016.{{cite web | last = Hopkins | first = Kyle | url = http://www.ktuu.com/content/news/Serial-killer-Police-say-James-Dale-Ritchie-committed-5-murders-in-2016-420514763.html | title = Serial killer: Police say James Dale Ritchie committed 5 murders in 2016 | date = April 26, 2017 | publisher = KTUU-TV | access-date = April 27, 2017}}

• List of Alaska state prisons

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