Attorney General William Barr on Friday declared an emergency for public safety in rural Alaska.
Barr announced that the Department of Justice will provide more than $10 million in funding to support law enforcement in Alaska Native villages. The department will immediately provide $6 million to the state to hire, equip, and train rural police; another $4.5 million, which will be provided to Alaska Native organizations by the end of July, will support 20 officer positions.
Barr said in a statement that he witnessed firsthand Alaska's "dire law enforcement challenges" during a May visit. The decision has received praise from the Alaska Federation of Natives, the state's largest Native organization.
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"We appreciate that U.S. Attorney General William Barr clearly understands the urgency of the public safety situation in rural Alaska," Julia Kitka, the organization's longtime president said. Kitka thinks the funding presents a real chance to make a difference, AFN spokesman Jeffry Silverman said.
Alaska has the highest per capita crime rate in the country, per the Justice Department, but it suffers from a shortage in law enforcement officers, among other challenges, including the fact that some villages are only accessible by boat or plane, which can delay investigations. Last month, it was reported that one in three communities had no local law enforcement at some point this year. Read more at The Anchorage Daily News.
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