Outrage as it’s revealed every single cop in Alaskan police department has a criminal record for domestic violence
EVERY single cop in one Alaskan police department has a criminal record for domestic violence, a shocking new investigation has revealed. The police department in the small town of Stebbins was so understaffed and desperate for new recruits they took to hiring dozens of convicted criminals. Lax hiring standards mean that even the chief of […]
EVERY single cop in one Alaskan police department has a criminal record for domestic violence, a shocking new investigation has revealed.
The police department in the small town of Stebbins was so understaffed and desperate for new recruits they took to hiring dozens of convicted criminals.
Lax hiring standards mean that even the chief of police has a criminal record – causing outrage among the local community.
According to an investigation by the local Anchorage Daily News in partnership with the nonprofit outlet ProPublica, ex-cons are often the only applicants for police roles.
Stebbins pays officers $14 an hour – and all seven cops in the department have pleaded guilty to domestic violence charges in the past decade.
The chief admitted to throwing a teen relative to the ground and threatening to kill her in 2017, a year before he was hired.
Nimeron Mike, 43, said he thought he had no chance of becoming a cop because of his record, but he was hired the same day he filled out the application.
He said he remembers thinking: “Am I a cop now?
“It’s like, that easy?”
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Mike’s record included a conviction for choking a woman unconscious in an attempted sexual assault, the investigation found.
He was ultimately fired three months into the job — a town official told the paper he wasn’t responding to calls and didn’t get along with another officer.
Although hiring officers with a criminal record is a violation of state public safety regulations, it reportedly happens all the time in the US.
According to the report, at least 14 Alaskan communities had hired cops whose criminal records should have barred them from the job.
The “foxes-guarding-the-henhouse” expose follows a May investigation by the paper that found one in three Alaska communities has no local cops at all.
OUTRAGE FROM THE PUBLIC
The community of Stebbins and Alaska are furious about the findings – saying it’s an “outrageous” situation that jeopardises the safety of people in the town.
Melanie Bahnke, a board member for the Alaska Federatio of Natives, told the paper: “It’s outrageous that we have a situation where we have such a lack of public safety that communities are resorting to hiring people who have the propensity for violence.
“Placing them in a position where they have control over people and possibly could victimise the victims further.”
Alaska is a popular place for domestic violence and rape crimes.
Last year, it was dubbed America’s “rape capital” – with stats showing nearly 120 reported cases for every 100,000 residents.
Campaigners and victims have pinpointed Alaska’s laws as being too lax when dealing with rapists – with numerous cases highlighting how outdated legislation is failing victims of violent crimes, including sexual assaults.
Standing Together Against Rape (STAR) says that 73 per cent of sexual in Alaska are carried out by someone known by the victim, and that child sexual assault in the state is almost six times the national average, reports KTUU-TV in Anchorage.
Keeley Olson of STAR said that Alaska’s laws are failing victims of violent crimes: “We have the highest rate of child maltreatment across the board and sexual child abuse trends with that.”
She urged the government to pay more attention to victims and their families, rather than cutting costs.
The public are calling for the government to intervene and make it easier to recruit new police officers for Alaska.
