Turning the corner on Anchorage’s crime problem

It has been a little more than a year since I took over as chief of police of the Anchorage Police Department, something I was extremely honored to do after having grown up in Anchorage and served my entire career in law enforcement at APD. It has been a challenging year, to be sure, but the overwhelming community support for the police department has made it rewarding work. I have had the opportunity to meet with many of you at public events all over Anchorage, and I am always delighted to see the way our residents are willing to participate in solving community issues.

It is no secret that Anchorage is facing increased property and violent crime, and many residents are very concerned about the growth and spread of illegal camping to parts of town that have not previously experienced it. I have listened to many comments regarding the occasional extended response times for patrol officers, as well as a desire to see more regular uniformed presence in neighborhoods. I'd like to share the actions that APD has taken to begin resolving some of the most pressing trends that we are facing, and what I believe are the next steps necessary to carry us forward.

APD has added more investigators to the Detective Division to address property and violent crime. This summer we added another four positions to the Property Crimes Section, as well as a position to the robbery/assault unit. As a result, we have been able to assign more cases to these investigators, and specifically have them spend more time investigating stolen vehicle cases. These efforts have increased our arrest rate in these categories. We have also focused on working closely with the Anchorage District Attorney's office by providing enhanced case follow-up and preparation for trial for a much higher rate of prosecution.

APD reorganized and increased the size of our Crime Suppression Division. These proactive units are dedicated to pursuing those people who are continually involved in criminal activity in Anchorage. For example, the Investigative Support Unit's efforts since October have led to more than 130 arrests, with approximately 90 percent of them for felony crimes. The division's units have been able to successfully partner with local businesses and our fellow law enforcement agencies for operations like the Retail Detail and Operation Midnight Sun. Property crime and violent crime frequently have a nexus to illegal drug use and trafficking, so the division is organized in a way that maximizes the units' ability to work together, along with with our state and federal partners to keep the pressure on the criminals. The Crime Suppression Division, in conjunction with many other organizations across the city, is also working toward innovative solutions to curb illegal camping. One example of this is the ability for anyone to report illegal camps online via an interactive map. These reports go directly to officers in the field for follow-up action.

The Patrol Division has grown and will continue to do so. A few years ago, the division had as few as 145 officers assigned to patrol Anchorage. This fall, we plan to have nearly 210 officers assigned. Uniformed patrol is the face of APD, and it is the patrol officer who members of the public see every day in their neighborhoods and business districts. It is a priority for APD to be able to respond promptly to residents' calls for service, and having more officers assigned to patrol is the primary way to accomplish that. In addition to responding to calls, the Patrol Division is actively engaged with residents in non-enforcement activity, and simply having a regularly visible presence in the community is a significant step in deterring criminal activity.

The next steps for the department are underway to ensure we can continue to improve our level of service to Anchorage residents. One of the ways I intend to do this is by increasing the number of non-sworn employees. APD needs to have enough people in Records, Dispatch, and Property and Evidence to handle the additional workload required to keep Anchorage safe. It is a priority for APD to reduce the wait time when someone calls dispatch for a non-emergency on 311, or an emergency situation on 911. The department must also improve its physical infrastructure to accommodate our larger workforce, as well as the increasing amount of property and evidence that we are required to store. The first step in that process will be relocating our headquarters to 716 W. 4th Avenue, which will then allow us to create more storage space at the existing Elmore Road facility while providing enough work space for all of our employees.

Everyone at APD is intensely focused on the challenges at hand. I am excited about the department's potential in the near future and extremely proud of the work we have done thus far. Please continue to provide your feedback to APD; I firmly believe that we cannot succeed as an organization without the faith, support and involvement of our community members. I very much look forward to continuing to serve Anchorage, as I have for the past 22 years. On behalf of all the men and women of APD, thank you for the tremendous support that we feel from our residents every day.

Justin Doll has been chief of police for the Anchorage Police Department since June 2017. He has served in the department for more than two decades.

The views expressed here are the writer's and are not necessarily endorsed by the Anchorage Daily News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary@adn.com. Send submissions shorter than 200 words to letters@adn.com or click here to submit via any web browser.