High rape rate shows ‘what we’re doing is not working’

DUSTIN SOLBERG

February 08, 2008 at 3:45PM AKST

The number of sexual assaults reported in Alaska is far above the national average, and a new study shows that nearly half of cases reported to Alaska State Troopers occur in the scattered settlements of Western Alaska.

The report reveals that 65 percent of victims are children under the age of 16 and only 2 percent of victims did not know the person who molested them.

"It’s uncle. It’s dad. It’s big brother," public safety Commissioner Walt Monegan said. "It’s not a guy with a ski mask out in the shadows."

The report issues a wake-up call for Alaska because federal statistics show law enforcement efforts are not causing a decline in sex crime rates.

"We lead the nation in forcible rapes," State Trooper Commander Audie Holloway said. "What we are doing is not working."

The University of Alaska Justice Center, which authored the study, does reveal some shortcomings in Alaska State Troopers’ investigations. Only 28 percent of the 989 cases reported to troopers were prosecuted in the courts. When cases didn’t make it to the courtroom, a lack of evidence was the most common reason.

Holloway said law enforcement needs to conduct better investigations and collect better evidence, but he added that a number of factors hamper the troopers. Sometimes, a victim doesn’t consent to a physical exam, and troopers may only be called in weeks after an alleged crime occurred.

"By the time we get their reports, there may be no physical evidence left to collect," Holloway said.

Still, Holloway said troopers see a flaw in their investigations.

"We decided that this was an issue that warranted immediate attention," he said.

The study authored by interim Justice Center Director Andre Rosay relies on data from 2003-04, the most recent years for which data is available. Troopers didn’t have more current numbers due to what Holloway called a "woefully inadequate recordkeeping technology."

The troopers don’t have the money to plan initiatives to lower the number of sex crimes in the state, but Monegan maintains nonetheless that a bold initiative is necessary.

The university study helps educate the public about the epidemic of child sexual abuse in rural Alaska, but professionals working in the field say it only confirms that abuse is shattering lives.

"Unfortunately, that’s the reality that we’ve been looking at for quite a while," said Meghan Gaughan of the Children’s Center in Bethel, who called the report "excellent."

She also advises that the statistics don’t present a complete picture.

"I definitely think there’s still a lot of people out there who are not reporting," she said.

The Children’s Center served 161 children from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta last year, and that number represents a rise in the annual rate since it opened its doors five years ago.

The center’s staff suspects that increase follows an education campaign that encourages victims to come forward.

"We know that this has been going on, but for so many years, people just did not talk about it. People are not silent about this anymore. They’re beginning to understand the effects of child sexual abuse," said Elena Aluskak, a child forensic interviewer at the Children’s Center.

Nationwide, the Department of Justice reports that 60 percent of sexual assaults go unreported, enabling a vicious trend.

"That 60 percent enables suspects to continue the crimes. Predators almost never prey upon just one victim," Monegan said.

He said law enforcement will try to do its part in stopping sexual abuse, but it cannot work alone. Monegan asks people to be bold in addressing the crime, as they can help change their communities.

"What people will tolerate tells you what level of crime they will have in their community," he said. "It has to be a societal change. Society is capable of it. It just has to want to change."

Former Department of Public Safety Commissioner Joe Masters initiated the study, and Monegan said law enforcement nationwide is increasingly partnering with academia to judge police performance in the communities it serves.

"It offers an objective perspective on how you conduct your business," Monegan said. "By working with the university, we have an opportunity to step back and evaluate our processes."

Dustin Solberg can be reached at (907) 348-2480 or toll free at (800) 770-9830, ext. 480.