ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The Department of Public Safety has released 2017 Uniform Crime Report (UCR) data in compliance with federal and state regulations. The FBI assumed responsibility for the UCR Program in the 1930s to help generate national crime statistics. DPS is the UCR administrator for Alaska; state statute requires police agencies to submit data on crimes within their jurisdiction to the Department for tabulation and reporting. 32 police agencies covering 99.5% of the state’s population submitted data for all 12 months of 2017.

Crime rates rose 6% between 2016 and 2017 across all categories. The violent crime rate (murder, rape, robbery, assault) rose 7%. The rate of property crimes (burglary, larceny, vehicle theft, arson) saw an increase of 6% in 2017.  The 2017 Felony Sex Assault Report will be released later this year, and will contain additional information on sexual assaults across the state.

The crime rate increases are consistent with the Department of Law’s data on prosecutions. Deputy Attorney General Robert Henderson testified during the legislative session that felony prosecutions had increased in 2017 mainly in Alaska’s urban hubs—Anchorage and Fairbanks—and western Alaska. The 2016 UCR along with the internal data the State had on prosecutions and law enforcement activity in 2017 spurred Governor Walker to task the Attorney General in conjunction with the Departments of Public Safety, Corrections, and Health and Social Services to create and implement the Public Safety Action Plan. 

While the “Crime in Alaska” report is a major resource for determining the trends and distribution of crime statewide, caution should be exercised when comparing year-to-year data and drawing conclusions. Crime rates can be influenced by a wide variety of factors. Caution should also be exercised when comparing Alaska UCR data to that of other states.

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