Alaska is residence to extra American Indians or Alaskans Natives per capita than another state within the nation.
Sadly, our Indigenous persons are disproportionately murdered or go lacking throughout the state, by no means to be heard from once more. Homicide is the third main explanation for dying for American Indian and Alaska Native girls. Whereas we consider the numbers are increased, at present there are 250 Alaska Native males and 51 Alaska Native females listed as lacking on the Alaska Lacking Particular person’s Clearinghouse public checklist of lacking individuals.
These numbers are merely unacceptable, and the Alaska Division of Public Security, together with the Alaska State Troopers, are working tirelessly to deal with Lacking and Murdered Indigenous Folks (MMIP) throughout our state, in each city and rural Alaska.
With Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s help, the Alaska Division of Public Security is creating new approaches to those investigations by including specialised legislation enforcement sources to rural Alaska. We’re including six full-time main crimes investigators to Bethel, Dillingham, Kotzebue and Nome. The Alaska State Troopers have by no means assigned main crime investigators to stay and work in our rural Alaska hub communities. These investigators, devoted to rural Alaska, will enable for a quicker response to violent crime scenes and permit patrol troopers to reply to extra requires service as an alternative of spending time securing crime scenes whereas an investigator responds from city Alaska. Within the governor’s price range request to the Legislature, we’ve got additionally included funding for 10 further Village Public Security Officers for distant communities, against the law scene technician for the Yukon Kuskokwim area, and two tribal liaisons to enhance the division’s communications and relationships with tribal governments and entities.
Along with these important investments, we’re including a devoted MMIP investigator to the Alaska Bureau of Investigation. Retired Alaska State Trooper Anne Sears, the primary Native feminine trooper in Alaska, has returned to the division to tackle this important function. Investigator Sears will evaluate chilly case murders and lacking individuals circumstances involving Indigenous individuals inside the troopers’ areas of accountability. Investigator Sears may also work with tribal entities throughout the state to establish any gaps in trooper response to new murders or lacking individuals investigations. I’m excited to welcome Investigator Sears again to the Division of Public Security and know that she’s going to do a wonderful job on this new function.
Whereas there’s rather more work to do, know that your Alaska Division of Public Security is devoted to doing our half to enhance the outcomes of lacking and murdered Indigenous individuals investigations throughout Alaska. Alaska’s First Peoples deserve nothing much less.