By JAMES COCKRELL
Alaska has long grappled with unacceptably high rates of sexual assault and child sexual abuse. This is a complex and deeply challenging issue, and while we have seen a decline in recent years, rates remain stubbornly high. At the Alaska Department of Public Safety, we are committed to continuing to work tirelessly to protect Alaskans and pursue justice for victims.
Over the last several years, and with the support of Gov. Mike Dunleavy and the Alaska Legislature, we have made meaningful strides in how our state responds to these horrific crimes.
More than half of those victimized by sexual violence in Alaska are juveniles. In response, we have added additional child abuse investigators to the Alaska State Troopers within the last year. These investigators are dedicated exclusively to crimes involving children, including sexual abuse and sexual assault.
While more than half of reported sexual assaults occur in Anchorage, Western Alaska experiences the highest rate of incidents per capita. For that reason, we have prioritized rural Alaska and made it clear that violence has no place in our villages or remote communities. Over the past several years, we have added ten major crime investigators to rural Alaska posts. These investigators are able to respond immediately to serious crimes, including sexual assault.
We have also revitalized the Village Public Safety Officer program. Since 2020, the number of VPSOs serving rural communities has more than doubled. VPSOs are often the first and only responders in remote areas and they play an essential role in immediately addressing serious crimes like sexual assault.
The Department of Public Safety is dedicated to not only protecting, but supporting survivors. The Victim Assistance Division was formed last year to streamline services for victims and provide comprehensive support. This division oversees our new Victim/Witness Navigator Program, which connects victims and witnesses to professionals who can provide information, resources, and assistance to them in the aftermath of violence. The navigators have supported more than 1,000 cases and contacted nearly 5,000 victims or witnesses.
The division also oversees the Violent Crimes Compensation Board, which provides financial assistance and reimbursement to victims. We simplified the application process and expanded outreach, which has increased applications by 43% in the last few years. And processing times have been reduced from 90 days to just over a week.
During the last year, the Alaska Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault distributed more than $22.5 million in grants for community-based programs across the state that provide victim services, prevention, and rehabilitation.
The Department of Public Safety provides sexual assault investigation training to law enforcement officers across the state who investigate these crimes. In total, officers have received more than 2,200 hours of specialized training during the last five years.
Alaska has also addressed the backlog of sexual assault examination kits in recent years. A program launched in 2023 allowed survivors the ability to track their kit and see the status and location of the evidence. Test turnaround times have significantly improved during the last five years, also. On average, each test had a 145-day turnaround time during 2025, compared to some taking years to complete under the prior administration.
Accountability remains a cornerstone of our work. In 2025, Alaska saw two of the longest-ever sentences imposed for sexual assault and sexual abuse. David Paul of Kipnuk received a 263-year prison sentence and Leonard Olrun of Mekoryuk was sentenced to 156 years in a separate case. We are grateful to our partners at the Alaska Department of Law for their continued commitment to pursuing justice through the courts for our investigations.
Alaska still has work to do, but we remain firmly committed to protecting our communities, supporting survivors, and holding offenders accountable.
James Cockrell is commissioner of the Alaska Department of Public Safety.
2 thoughts on “James Cockerell: Alaska remains committed to addressing sexual violence”
*Not with the current leaders ( both elected and unelected or government employees) that Alaska has working in the area of sexual violence/domestic violence groups
Quit Lying. You guys aren’t doing anything and you never taken violence, bullying, intimidation, coercion seriously. You don’t have to look any further than the Capital and State of Alaska, Tribal, private sector employments to not see we tolerate abusive behavior up here on Alaska.
If our leaders truly were serving to do the Right actions. Alaska would look like a very much different place than it looks and feels today.
Our current leaders are going to have to leave their leadership positions or appointments to be replaced by people who do not Absolute truths and right living to decrease the dysfunction and abuse Alaska’s been living under.
Because can a Pig resist the Mudd hole?