Gov. Mike Dunleavy held a press conference in Anchorage on Tuesday to discuss his plan to help law enforcement agencies investigate and remove sexual predators and violent offenders off the streets in Alaska and give sexual assault survivors more control over their cases. The governor was joined by Municipality of Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson, APD Chief Ken McCoy, DPS Commissioner Jim Cockrell, DOC Commissioner Nancy Dahlstrom and Deputy Attorney General John Skidmore.
Dunleavy said:
“As you know, Alaska has one of the highest sexual assault rates in the country. It’s not something any of us are proud of. Over the years, there have been a number of initiatives to try and work on this. The work we’re doing in my administration as well as starting here in the Anchorage administration is really crucial. As a former teacher who’s had to deal with, unfortunately, children that have been impacted by sexual abuse/sexual assault, as a father of three daughters who wants to make sure that this is the safest state in the country for all Alaskans, all of our women, all of our children, all of our men, we want to keep building on what we’re trying to accomplish and that’s trying to reduce this scourge on Alaska.”
Skidmore:
“The announcement that the administration is making today really fits hand and glove with the other efforts that the administration’s been making to do a better job at servicing victims in the criminal justice system when they are victims of sexual assault. Adding the new prosecutors is part of that. We want to get the kids processed timely. We want to get back to victims timely. We want to collect this other DNA to help us solve the crimes.”
DPS Commissioner Jim Cockrell:
“My team has aggressively been working this problem by identifying the individuals that owe DNA as well as the means to collect that owed DNA. This is not unique to Alaska. Many states have implemented similar DNA collections on arrest or DNA collection after conviction statutes and have run into the same issues we currently are. In addition, we are working on technical solutions for various criminal justice databases managed by the department of public safety, department of corrections, and the state crime lab to ensure technology can communicate with each other about the status of new DNA collections to ensure that each collection is processed and reviewed.”
Governor Mike Dunleavy’s Omnibus Crime Bill, HB 49, was passed and signed into law seven months after he took office, according to the office of governor. The legislation repealed and replaced SB 91, and enacted timeframes for submission and testing. The law now requires that law enforcement notify the victims from which a kit was collected, that testing has been completed. Dunleavy will request the legislature appropriate $1.1 million of ARPA funds for this initiative, to be used in conjunction with $900,000 in existing Department of Public Safety funding for necessary resources. He also intends to introduce legislation next session to directly address sexual assaults and violent offenses.
Click here for the Department of Public Safety’s Combined SNA Index System (CODIS) Report. Click here for Frequently Asked Questions on the DNA Collection and Sexual Assault Kit testing directives.
