A national research group for prisons which tracks the population of inmates states that American Indians and Alaska Natives are significantly underrepresented in the state prison system across the country and Alaska is the top of the list.
The Prison Policy Initiative, a Massachusetts-based think tank, has drilled down into the number of inmates through 2021. The study examined every state and discovered that Alaska Natives account for 40% of those imprisoned in Alaska but only a mere 14 percent of Alaska’s population.
The figures also reveal that in Alaska the total amount of Native people incarcerated is nearly equal to the white prisoners. In 2021, there were 4,600 prisoners at Alaska prisons. From those, 1,895 of them were white, in contrast with 1,855 Natives.
Wanda Bertram, a Prison Policy Initiative spokesperson, told the press that these numbers raise an alarm.
“That implies something that is not only out of the ordinary, but also deeply unfair regarding this system of criminal justice,” Bertram said. “I think what it is saying is that Alaska’s legal system for criminals is racially biased. It’s as simple as that.”
However, Brad Myrstol, a researcher at the University of Alaska Anchorage Justice Center explained that the situation is more complicated because Alaska’s prison system is arranged differently from other state correctional facilities.
“It’s an one-of-a-kind thing to discuss disparities and attempt to comprehend how they’re created,” Myrstol said. “It’s entirely different to discuss discrimination which suggests a deliberate intent.”
When analysing data, he looks at what he refers to as the “three three” which are disparities, difference and discrimination.
Myrstol claimed that the “difference” in Alaska is in the way its prison system is set up. In most states, he explained are home to inmates within two separate facilities, local jails and prisons. In Alaska the two are merged into one called an “unified corrections system.” Alaska and five states – Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Rhode Island and Vermont have systems that are unified.
In many states, non-sentenced or inmates who are awaiting trial are housed in separate cells.
Myrstol claimed that there is a greater than one race in this population which is often attributed to poverty. The prisoner of whites is more likely to pay for bail or legal aid to obtain supervision-supervised release, however the Alaska Natives and other minorities do not possess these resources, which is why they are locked up longer in jail while waiting for their sentence. Myrstol noted that a delay in court cases, caused by the COVID-19 virus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, has made the situation even more severe.
Myrstol said he couldn’t comment on whether the Alaskan criminal justice system is racist.
“What I’m saying is there are a lot of disparities in the justice system for criminals, in Alaska as well as elsewhere. The causes of the disparities are complicated however they are crucial to know,” Myrstol said. “But we need to be wary against simplistic explanations that are based on a single cause.”
However, the Prison Policy Initiative said regardless of the method used to add the figures, American Indian and Alaska Native prisoner populations across the country are far too high when compared to the population overall.
Based on Alaska’s statistics, Bertram said the key to reducing the rate of homelessness is identifying the root causes of the disparities, for instance, determining if the high levels of homelessness in Alaska Natives increase the number of prisoners.
“That might mean minor activities like sleeping in a public placeor taking drugs -could result in jail time. This can often lead to jail time for other offenses,” Bertram said. “And those who are in poverty are effectively pushed into prison.”
Bertram said that incarceration rates across the nation for Alaska Natives as well as American Indians as a group as which are reported by the national Bureau of Justice Statistics, are increasing at alarming rates.
“In this nation, it’s extremely likely to be in jail if you’re a Native American,” Bertram stated. “And this is true regardless of the state you’re located in. It’s more likely, more likely when you’re located in Alaska.”
Since 2000, the inmate population within Indian Country jails climbed by 62 percent. In other local jails in the country, the figure is greater, at 85 percent.
In the case of Alaska prisons Brad Myrstol said, it’s simpler to spot the gaps than to address them.
“(The State) Departments of Corrections have limited control over the inputs they get,” he said. “We live in a world that seeks equality in the legal system — and if we observe gaps, it prompts crucial questions.”
