Mayor  Mark Begich remarks
Sexual Assault Intervention Press Conference
9 a.m.;  Dec. 17, 2003; Mayor’s Conference Room

Good morning – thanks for joining us. We’re here for an important announcement about our concerted effort to prevent and crack down on the terrible crime of sexual assault.

As you’ll recall, the Anchorage Police Department received some very disturbing news last October. It was told that based on 2002 crime data, Anchorage ranked second in the nation in the number of reported sexual assaults. And that for cities of over 100,000 residents, we had the highest per capita rate of sexual assault. 

This was simply unacceptable news to me, and I said then we’re going to change it.

Today, we’re pleased to announce an important step in a three-prong initiative to do everything we can to ensure that Anchorage is safe from those who commit sexual assaults.

The action we’re announcing today is an innovative program of community involvement called the Sexual Assault Community Intervention Partnership. It involves vital members of our community working with the police to prevent sexual assault. Chief Monegan will explain it in more detail in a moment.

I believe this program is unique in the nation – and I commend the detectives of the APD Special Victims Unit for their role in developing this innovative partnership. 

I would also like to commend the representatives of STAR, the Community Patrols and the Downtown Partnership for their willingness to play a role in solving this very serious community problem.   I am encouraged that these groups are joining with us in this intervention program. 

However, I want to emphasize that this program does NOT make up for the shortage of police officers that we’ve already identified. 

You’ll remember that the result of the APD 60-Day Management report concluded that Anchorage needs 93 new patrol officers in order to meet the needs of the community.  This program is NOT a replacement for those officers.  But hiring those officers will take time. 

In the meantime, the program is something that will make a positive impact until we are able to increase the number of officers on the streets.

Let me mention the two other initiatives we’re working on and will be announcing more details about shortly.

One is the creation of a new, specialized unit within the police department. This unit will focus on interrupting the cycle of sexual assault before the crimes take place. It is based on $500,000 I asked the Assembly to approve for the coming year to focus specifically on sexual assault. We’ll say more about it shortly.

Finally, we are eagerly anticipating up to $2 million in federal dollars that our congressional delegation is working on. You’ll recall a few weeks ago that Senator Lisa Murkowski announced that she had included those funds in the federal budget.

Unfortunately like many Alaska programs, the funding is caught up in congressional bickering. As Senator Stevens noted in the newspaper yesterday, he’s hopeful but not necessarily confident the funding will be eventually approved.

In the meantime, APD is putting together a detailed proposal for the use of those dollars, should they become available.

Preventing and combating sexual assault is a top priority of my administration. Now, let me ask Chief Monegan to explain in more detail the Community Intervention Partnership.

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