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Welcome to Anchorage Update
Greetings!
This week we focus on public safety and the good
things our police and fire departments are doing to improve the quality of life
in Anchorage. Please send any feedback to mayor@muni.org.
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Focus on street level crime leads to surge in
drug arrests
Recently, the
Anchorage Police Dept. refocused its drug enforcement efforts on the variety of
street level crime that directly affects our neighborhoods. As a result, the
numbers of arrests for drug-related crimes surged. In a six-month period from September 1, 2009 to February 28, 2010, Chief
Mark Mew reports that officers seized more than 11,603 grams of meth, 5,626
grams of cocaine and crack, 3,058 grams of marijuana, 75 firearms and $815,566
in cash. With this new effort there have been 162
drug investigations resulting in 168 arrests or arrest warrants, 12 cases pending federal prosecution for a total of 274 felony charges and 182
misdemeanor charges. The focus on street-level
crime is in alignment with the mayor's goal of returning to community policing,
where officers concentrate their efforts on high crime areas. This in turn
should make our streets and neighborhoods safer.
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APD Chief Mew and the Mayor
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Anchorage Fire Dept. wins prestigious national
award for cardiac care
The Anchorage Fire
Department (AFD) was honored last week with the 2010 Heart Safe Community Award
by the International Association of Fire Chiefs. The prestigious award
recognizes the implementation of creative approaches to improving therapies for
patients with acute coronary syndromes and life-threatening,
sudden cardiac
arrest. The AFD's program was chosen from among hundreds of similar initiatives
offered by Emergency Medical Service providers throughout North America. Anchorage
is among the very top tier of cities in survival from out of hospital cardiac
arrest. Each year the percentage survival from the condition known as
ventricular fibrillation has improved in Anchorage. "This is proof of how well
trained and professional our AFD first responders are," said Mayor Sullivan.
"The entire community should be proud of this impressive award."
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APD creates new tool for citizens to report
traffic problems
With springtime
finally here, it's time to think about all the new road hazards (kids outside,
bicyclists, gravel, bare roads interspersed with icy spots, wildlife, etc.) The
Anchorage Police Dept. is mindful of the increased risk and has created a new
tool citizens can use to keep their neighborhoods safe. In order to better
serve the community, APD now sponsors a hotline, the Traffic Enforcement
Request Line, where residents can leave messages reporting areas which they
feel need increased enforcement. Aggressive traffic law enforcement is a
time-tested method for reducing accidents and promoting good driving. The
new hotline number is 786-8949, and citizens are encouraged to leave a message
with the location, time of day and description of the traffic problems they
observe. In response, the APD Traffic Unit can beef up enforcement in these problem
areas.
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Mayor
Sullivan meets with members of the Native Emerging Leaders Forum at
City Hall.
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Got a speeding ticket? Pay that fine online!
Rather than mailing a
check, or bringing a citation to APD headquarters or the courthouse for
payment, citizens now have the option of accessing the APD web page (linked
from the main muni.org site) and selecting the "Pay Traffic Citations Online"
link to pay APD fines. The secure web site allows citations to be paid by
credit card, and provides a printable receipt. This option is for traffic
citations only. It cannot be used for
parking citations, which are paid to the Anchorage Community Development
Authority. Correctable citations (i.e.
expired tags) must still be brought to APD Headquarters for dismissal along
with proof that the reason for the citation issuance has been corrected.
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Mayor's
Appearance Schedule
- April 20
Assembly Meeting
- April 21
Energy Task Force
- April 24
Native Youth Olympic Games
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