Mayor LaFrance has said public safety is the top priority of her administration. Her administration has focused on reducing crime and increasing accountability, hiring more public safety personnel, expanding resources to help people in crisis, and increasing public safety presence in high-traffic areas like downtown, parks, and trails.
Read the public safety plan here.
Public safety
Actions taken to address public safety:
19 new Community Service Officers hired at APD
First full APD Academy in five years, meaning more officers in training
Fully staffed Prosecutor’s Office for the first time in years
Implemented 24/7 Mobile Crisis Team
Increased public safety presence in high-traffic areas including a priority project in Town Square Park, the park that has seen the most calls to APD in recent years
Results to date
Increased prosecution of crimes and eliminated speedy trial dismissals, meaning criminals are held accountable
X more calls answered by Mobile Crisis Team since expansion to 24/7
24 arrests made under new laws prohibiting fires and prohibiting camps near busy roads, schools, and trails
33% reduction in calls for APD service at Town Square Park following increased presence
Deeper dive
When Mayor LaFrance took office, Anchorage was facing a series of public safety challenges: persistent crime rates, understaffed public safety departments, limited resources for people in crisis, and concerns about safety in high-traffic areas like downtown and public parks.
Mayor LaFrance’s Safe Streets and Trails plan identifies four priority areas: a robust public safety workforce; less crime and more accountability; more people get access to crisis care; and roads, parks, and trails are safe for everyone.
Hiring more public safety personnel
When Mayor LaFrance took office, public safety staffing at the Anchorage Police Department (APD) and in the Prosecutor’s Office were at multi-year lows, with Prosecution reaching a vacancy rate as high as 40%. The mayor has identified public safety staffing as the top priority in her Safe Streets and Trails plan.
Today: Prosecution is fully staffed for the first time in years, and APD is adding more personnel while training more new officers.
Number of prosecutors at the city
When Mayor LaFrance took office, Prosecution was understaffed and hundreds of cases were being dismissed without being tried, meaning criminals were not being held accountable for crimes committed in Anchorage. Today, Prosecution is at full force and prosecuting all types of crimes in the Municipality.
Criminal cases prosecuted
Mayor LaFrance has also identified staffing at APD as a priority. The most recent APD Academy is full for the first time in years, meaning more officers in training. APD is also bringing on more non-sworn personnel, including 19 new Community Resource Officers. Community resource officers are unarmed APD personnel that provide critical functions at APD while relieving resources for officers to respond to the highest priority calls.
Community Resource Officers at APD
Expanded crisis response resources
In the first budget of her administration, Mayor LaFrance prioritized expanding the Mobile Crisis Team to 24/7 service, increasing the capacity to respond to people in crisis. The Mobile Crisis Team is based out of the Anchorage Fire Department (AFD).
APD also has a Mobile Intervention Team has also expanded to include six teams. Each team pairs an officer with a clinician to respond to people in crisis.
2025 is the first year the Mobile Crisis Team is operating 24/7 to respond to people in crisis.
Calls fielded by Mobile Crisis Team
Early impacts of new laws prohibiting fires and prohibiting camps near roads, schools, and trails
Mayor LaFrance has introduced several new ordinances meant to improve public safety in public spaces.
20 arrests
made under new law that prohibits starting fires in public spaces
4 arrests
made under new law that prohibits camps near busy roads, schools, and trails
87 individuals
voluntarily complied with the new law, and 11 accepted services
Impact of increased public safety presence in high-traffic areas
Mayor LaFrance and APD have focused on increasing public safety presence in high-traffic public spaces including parks, trails, and downtowns. A priority project has focused on Town Square Park in downtown Anchorage, testing if increased public safety presence will improve outcomes.
Crime has decreased in Town Square Park following increased public safety presence.
Calls to APD from Town Square Park
The recent project in Town Square Park has shown that increased public safety presence and positive activation of a space through community events can decrease crime and make public spaces more welcoming. Mayor LaFrance has said the administration will look to replicate this approach in other high-traffic parks and trails in the Municipality.