Alaska Releases Quarterly Report on MMIP

ANCHORAGE - Alaskan law enforcement agencies, in collaboration with advocates for Indigenous peoples, have launched a new endeavor to provide and distribute more information to assist in locating the missing, particularly those of Alaska Native and American Indian descent.

The state’s missing persons database has seen recent updates which now focus on Indigenous individuals, ensuring that cases, whether they are historical, current, or future, include specific information such as race and sex.

This additional data is being incorporated into the Alaska Missing Persons Clearinghouse, following Gov. Mike Dunleavy, R-Alaska, announcing in 2021 the “People First Initiative,” which incorporated missing and murdered Indigenous people (MMIP) programming provisions.

“The Department of Public Safety sat in on the MMIP as well as the Human Sex Trafficking Councils,” said DPS Communications Director Austin McDaniel, “and one of the recommendations out of the MMIP Council was to help clean up the data that is available publicly.”

Both DPS and the Anchorage Police Department have now planned to release quarterly reports highlighting Alaska Native and American Indian individuals, which will also include individuals categorized under an unknown race.

“We teamed up together after we had heard from a couple of different community groups – that all support the MMIP effort across the state – that this was data that they all found really challenging to get,” McDaniel explained. “We went through and looked at that to see how we could improve these two or three publicly-available data sources, as well as some internal law enforcement databases, to put that all together in one document to help educate the community, educate Alaskans on how many missing Indigenous persons there are in Alaska.”

There were no additional costs to generate this specific report, McDaniel added, noting that recent investments in the DPS have allowed staff to focus more on initiatives like this.

The latest report, which spans from April 1, 2023, through June 30, 2023, shows that of the 437 people reported missing across all law enforcement agencies in Alaska, 199 are either Alaska Native or American Indian, or their race is not designated.

Charlene Apok of Data for Indigenous Justice expressed her thoughts: “We hope that with DPS and APD having information at their fingertips, that we see it translate into meaningful action and different policies that are proved and more coordination as well, to improve what’s happening with folks across the state.”

She emphasized the need for enhanced strategies and improved coordination to address the issues statewide. Speaking about the advancements in law enforcement’s efforts, Apok commented, “It’s promising to see that they’re making efforts,” and she expressed a longstanding desire for better collaboration among law enforcement entities.

Subsequent updates to the Alaska Missing Persons Clearinghouse will ensure it includes details like name, sex, race, case number, the agency in charge, and last known contact date. The public can access this information via a table on the DPS website.

Stressing the importance of the human stories behind the statistics, Apok remarked, “One of the most important things when we do talk about data for missing and murdered Indigenous people is recognizing that these are real lives and real families across our state.”

The Anchorage Police Department could not provide a spokesperson for an on-camera interview due to scheduling conflicts. However, in a written statement, Anchorage Police Chief Michael Kerle emphasized the importance of timely reporting in missing persons cases, stating, “A common misconception is you have to wait 24 hours to report a person missing.” He further clarified the procedures and highlighted the significance of notifying law enforcement if a missing person is located.