Lawmakers and Alaskans frustrated by rising crime rates gathered in Anchorage Saturday for an extended forum to vent their frustrations with Alaska’s criminal justice system.<\/p>\n
The event, organized by Rep. Lora Reinbold, R-Eagle River, was co-hosted by a swath of incumbent lawmakers seeking re-election to the Alaska Legislature. <\/p>\n
Reinbold herself is expected to win a seat in the Alaska Senate and has been a stalwart opponent of criminal justice reform efforts that began with Senate Bill 91 in 2016. (The measure wasn’t fully implemented until Jan. 1 this year.)<\/p>\n
“I believe the state is failing in many ways, and it’s of deep concern to me,” she told an audience that filled a meeting room at the Anchorage Legislative Information Office.<\/p>\n
While Reinbold attempted to keep the meeting focused on technical problems with Senate Bill 91 in particular, invited testifiers had different ideas and attempted to point out that Alaska’s crime problems are also due to budget cuts that have reduced the number of state prosecutors and made it difficult to fill vacant positions in the Alaska State Troopers.<\/p>\n
“It’s a tough environment for law enforcement in rural Alaska,” said Major Bryan Barlow of the Alaska State Troopers.<\/p>\n
John Skidmore, head of the criminal division of the Alaska Department of Law, said no single bill controls criminal justice in Alaska.<\/p>\n
“We’re always looking at things, we’re always trying to improve things,” he said, and if Alaskans are unhappy, “It’s not just a ‘here’s one simple thing, and everything’s fixed.’”<\/p>\n
Skidmore told the audience that SB 91 has been revised several times by the Legislature and that he expects further revisions next year.<\/p>\n