When the Republican-led Majority took office, we promised to make Alaska a safer place. During the 21st Legislature, the Majority focused on better tools for Alaska’s crime fighters, longer sentences for those who harm others, and more rights for victims. The Majority also looked at ways to make Alaska a safer place in which to work and play.

Upholding Victims' Rights

• To help compensate crime victims for the financial and emotional damage caused by violent crimes, we increased funding for the Violent Crimes Compensation Board.
• Victims for Justice, a non-profit victims’ advocacy group, received an increase of $100,000 in additional funding over the FY99 authorized spending.
• SB 4 establishes an Office of Victims’ Rights to advocate for victims of crime and to ensure that their constitutional rights are upheld. The Office of Victims’ Rights and the Victims’ Advocate will be completely funded by Permanent Fund dividends forfeited by repeat criminals.
• HB 67 mandates that courts must consider the safety of victims in sexual assault, sexual abuse of a minor, and certain other sexual offense cases.

Providing Better Tools for Alaska Crime Fighters

• HB 135 allows peace officers investigating a crime or making an arrest to wear monitoring devices without first obtaining a warrant. This enables back-up law enforcement to monitor the investigation, and provide help to the undercover officer, if necessary.
• HB 151 more effectively curbs underage drinking by fine-tuning current law. It better defines when and under what circumstances a minor’s driver’s license may be revoked or restored.
• HB 180 expands the conditions under which the co-presence of children and drugs is forbidden and provides for stiffer penalties.
• HB 214 mandates that court decisions affecting Alaska’s prison system be as direct and unobtrusive as possible regarding the overall operations of the prison system.
• SB 259 makes it a crime to possess false identification or the identification of another person and updates statutes regarding crimes involving computers and the use of new recording technology to exploit children.
• SB 26 makes it a crime to knowingly give false information to a peace officer with the intent of avoiding apprehension, prosecution, conviction, or punishment. recording technology to exploit children.

Punishing Murderers

• SB 3 strengthens the penalties for people who kill children by making sure those convicted of murdering children, whether intentionally or in the course of inflicting abuse, are sentenced to tough, long terms in prison.
• SB 11 increase the minimum mandatory sentence from five to ten years for individuals convicted of second degree murder in Alaska.
• SB 268 increases the mandatory term of imprisonment to 99 years for those convicted of first degree murder during a robbery.