Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Myrstol presents information on property crime rates

Dr. Brad Myrstol, interim Justice Center director and director of the Alaska Justice Information Center told a group of Anchorage business owners that the impact of SB91, a bill providing sentencing and corrections reforms to reduce the prison population and save an estimated $380 million in 10 years, on property crime rates is difficult to assess given that it's been just over a year since its passage. He encouraged members of the group to view current levels of crimes known to police in historical context, and discussed the limitations of using crime rates to assess the effects of SB91.

Myrstol presented graphs showing the number of property crimes reported to the Anchorage Police Department between from 1985 through 2016. Pronounced increases in larceny thefts, motor vehicle thefts and burglaries reported to the police all started well before the passage of SB91, Myrstol said. He added that although numbers are going up, put in context, some are well below historical highs.

Click on the image below to see rates per 100,000 population for property crimes in Anchorage.

Rate of larceny thefts reported to Anchorage Police Department, 1985–2016. Click through for graphs of other property crime rates.


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