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Lawless

Sexual Violence in Alaska

The Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica are investigating sexual violence in Alaska, and why the situation isn’t getting better.

Impact of Our Reporting
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Lawless

Alaskan Law Requires DNA From Accused Criminals, but Officials Failed to Collect Samples From 21,000 People

Alaska authorities neglected to collect DNA swabs from nearly a quarter of qualifying arrestees since 1995, the state said. The requirement was supposed to help solve sexual assault cases and put serial offenders behind bars.

Local Reporting Network

Lawless

Sex Offenders Were Becoming Cops. After Our Stories, Alaska’s Governor Wants That To End.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s proposed law comes after Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica found that dozens of rural Alaskan police officers had been hired despite criminal convictions.

Local Reporting Network

Lawless

Alaska’s Public Safety Officer Program Is Failing. Can It Be Saved?

A big part of Alaska’s law enforcement crisis is a program that recruits residents of remote villages and trains them to work as police. Now, a group of state legislators is proposing nine ideas to rescue the program.

Local Reporting Network

Lawless

How a Police Officer in Iowa Helped Protect an Alaskan Police Force — From Thousands of Miles Away

He read our story about Alaska’s policing problems and began raising money to send supplies to the small Police Department in Savoonga. His efforts may save his fellow officers’ lives.

Local Reporting Network

Lawless

We Found Villages That Hired Criminals as Cops. Now Officials Want It To Change.

The Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica found small Alaska cities have employed police whose criminal records should have prevented them from being hired. Now, the state board is working to ensure they meet basic hiring standards.

Local Reporting Network

Lawless

Justice Department Will Fund More Prosecutors, Jails and Cops in Rural Alaska

To improve what it calls a public safety emergency, the DOJ detailed how it will spend $10.5 million. Alaska Native advocates want long-term reforms to increase their role in local justice systems as well.

Police Say They Won’t Reopen Case of Alaska Woman Found Dead on Mayor’s Property

For Alaska Families, Questions Remain About Unsolved Deaths and “Suicides”

One Woman Died on an Alaska Mayor’s Property. Then Another. No One Has Ever Been Charged.

Citizens Hide From Active Shooters as Alaska Is Slow to Deliver on 2019 Promise of Village Troopers

ProPublica and Partners Nominated for Seven ONA Awards

School District That Employed Principal Despite Sex Abuse Complaints Will Pay $3.8 Million to His Victims

“Unheard” Wins SPJ Ethics in Journalism Award

“Unheard” Wins Dart Award for Excellence in Coverage of Trauma

Two ProPublica Local Reporting Network Projects Named Finalists for Shadid Award for Journalism Ethics

Alaska Requires DNA Be Collected From People Arrested for Violent Crimes. Many Police Have Ignored That.

After 3 Years and $1.5 Million Testing Rape Kits, Alaska Made One New Arrest

Alaska’s “Him Too” Moment: When Politicians and Allies Come With Accusations of Their Own

Her Stepfather Admitted to Sexually Abusing Her. That Wasn’t Enough to Keep Her Safe.

The Woman Propositioned by Alaska’s Former Lieutenant Governor Tells Her Story for the First Time

She Asked to Be Saved From Him. Now She’s Dead.

An Opportunity to Listen as Our “Unheard” Project Becomes a Museum Installation

The Anchorage Museum, Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica Present “Unheard,” a Public Photography and Audio Installation Highlighting Alaska’s Sexual Assault Survivors

For Decades, She Blamed Herself for the Abuse. Writing Her Story Was an Act of Survival. Publishing It Was an Act of Rebellion.

Her Addiction Landed Her in a Prison Segregation Wing. The Man She Says Abused Her Lives Free.

Her Attacker Was Stopped in the Act and Arrested, but This Assault Was Only the Beginning of Her Trauma

“They Were the Authority and I Didn’t Argue With Authority”

The Teacher Who Returned to the Small Village Where She was Abused is Not Staying Silent

Trapped at Sea, Alone With Her Assailant, He Told Her “You’re Mine for the Week”

How Photographers Sought to Redefine the Image of Alaska’s Sexual Assault Survivors

Here’s What Experts Say to Do After Experiencing Sexual Assault

Giving Voice to Alaska’s Unheard Sexual Assault Survivors

How We Worked With Survivors of Sexual Assault in Alaska to Tell Their Stories

An Elementary School Repeatedly Dismissed Allegations Against Its Principal. Then, an FBI Agent Pretended to Be a 13-Year-Old Girl.

ProPublica and Local Reporting Partner Anchorage Daily News Win Pulitzer Prizes for National Reporting and Public Service

“Lawless” Wins Paul Tobenkin Award and Scripps Howard Impact Award

Alaska’s Law Enforcement Crisis Is a Public Emergency. Here’s How Experts Want to Fix It.

In Search of Solutions to Alaska’s Law Enforcement Crisis

These Cops are Supposed to Protect Rural Villages. They’re in the Suburbs Instead.

Alaska’s Uneven Rural Law Enforcement System Often Leaves Remote Villages With No Cops

After the Last Cop Killed Himself, All the Criminals Have to Do Is Hide

She Leapt From a Moving Car to Escape Her Rapist. Then, She Waited 18 Years for an Arrest.

We’ve Heard From Nearly 300 Survivors of Sexual Assault in Alaska. But There Are More of You We’d Like to Reach.

Clergy Abused an Entire Generation in This Village. With New Traumas, Justice Remains Elusive.

Cops in One Village Have Been Convicted of 70 Crimes. Here’s What They Had to Say About It.

The Village Where Every Cop Has Been Convicted of Domestic Violence

“Dire” Law Enforcement Crisis in Rural Alaska Prompts Emergency Declaration, New Federal Funding

Discussing Alaska’s Long History of Sexual Violence Is One Step Toward Seeking Solutions

“No More Silence”: Her Kidnapping, Sexual Assault and Murder Stunned a Town, and Started a Movement

“Enough Is Enough”: Native Leaders Ask William Barr to Help Fix Alaska’s Law Enforcement Crisis

Why We’re Investigating Sexual Violence in Alaska

How We Tallied Alaska Villages Without Local Law Enforcement

Have You Experienced Sexual Violence in Alaska? We’d Like To Hear Your Story.