Implementing a philosophy: As Juneau tackles crime bill, lots of questions left unanswered

Corrections officers wait outside of a cell during a weekly inspection at the Lemon Creek Correction Center on June 18, 2016 in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo by Rashah McChesney/KTO
Corrections officers wait outside of a cell during a weekly inspection at the Lemon Creek Correctional Center on June 18, 2016. (Photo by Rashah McChesney/KTOO)

Earlier this year, the state passed Senate Bill 91, a reform of Alaska’s criminal justice system. Its proponents hope it will reduce recidivism and the likelihood of repeat offenders.

But as the bill’s effects trickle down to local governments, Juneau city officials are realizing there are a lot of questions left unanswered.

Juneau City Attorney Amy Mead briefed about a dozen city officials Wednesday afternoon on the crime bill. Mead summarized the more than 20 recommendations listed in a December 2015 report from the Alaska Criminal Justice Commission. Many of the commission’s recommendations were implemented in SB 91.

After she finished the laundry list rundown, she asked, “Are there any questions?”

Juneau Assembly members had a lot, ranging from funding to prosecutions.

“We’re tasked with finding creative alternative sentencing options and I, off the top of my head, do not know what those things look like,” Mead said. “So we’re trying to do some research and trying to figure out what other communities have gone through this (and) what they have used.”

After the meeting, Mayor Ken Koelsch said it’s clear that there’s more work ahead.

“My reaction to that is that there are more dark areas than light areas, so there’s more things we don’t know than we know,” Koelsch said. “So it’s going to be trial-by-error situation from what I can see, trying to figure out exactly what this bill means and what it means for the city.”

Koelsch said he found the consequence of failing to fulfill community service requirements confusing. Previously, if someone was ordered to do community service for a crime instead of jail, and refused to do the service, they would go to jail. Under SB 91, Mead said, that’s no longer the case. The court can still fine them.

But Koelsch said it’s unclear what will happen if the offender can’t or refuses to pay the fine.

Juneau Police Chief Bryce Johnson also attended the meeting. He said some of his officers are frustrated and confused with some of aspects of the bill.

“They’re getting a lot of calls right now,” he said. “People found out, hey, you can’t be put in jail for a property crime under $250. Gosh, I’ll go out and do more. So we’ve gotten a lot more calls than we did before because that seems to be at least a short-term response. So they’re feeling the pinch of it, they’re certainly feeling an increased workload.”

If the bill is effective, it might also lessen the likelihood of repeat offenders. But in Juneau, there are a lot seasoned ones.

“Repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat. ” Johnson said. “A lot of the people that we arrest, they’ve been arrested many, many, many times. So hey, if the state and service providers can figure out a way to keep them from offending again, I’m all for it. Don’t misunderstand me, I think that’s a great idea.”

He said he respects the intent of the bill but things still need clarification.

“A lot of it is, is this was a sweeping change to the criminal justice program that happened pretty quick. … There is still a lot of unknown,” he said.

Misdemeanors that used to land people in jail don’t under SB 91, Mead said. Which means the city may be able to reduce what it pays the state to cover the jailing costs. It’s been about $400,000 a year since 2002.

Halfway through the meeting, Assembly member Jamie Bursell asked Mead a question that seemed to be on a lot of people’s minds.

“Regarding treatment options, with our lack of community resource centers, what will we do in the interim?”

After a long pause, Mead said, “That is a fabulous question and I don’t know how to answer that.”

But Mead told the assembly that she knows other cities have gone through this before, and succeeded.

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