page_title: Anchorage, Alaska
section_title: Public safety
hierarchical_section_title: Anchorage, Alaska / Government and politics / Public safety
caption_attribution_description: Fire engine on a call in Anchorage
context_page_description: Anchorage is a unified municipal consolidated city-borough in the U.S. state of Alaska, on the West Coast of the United States. With an estimated 288,000 residents in 2019, it is Alaska's most populous city and contains 39.37% of the state's population; among the 50 states, only New York has a higher percentage of residents who live in its most populous city. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Matanuska-Susitna Borough, had a population of 396,317 in 2019, accounting for more than half the state's population. At 1,706 square miles of land area, the city is the fourth-largest by area in the United States and larger than the smallest state, Rhode Island, which has 1,212 square miles.
  Anchorage is in Southcentral Alaska, at the terminus of the Cook Inlet, on a peninsula formed by the Knik Arm to the north and the Turnagain Arm to the south. The city limits span 1,961.1 square miles, encompassing the urban core, a joint military base, several outlying communities and almost all of Chugach State Park.
context_section_description: With a reported strength of 383 sworn officers, the Anchorage Police Department is the largest police department in the state, serving an area of 159 square miles with a population of 300,950. Until 2016, Alaska State Troopers provided policing for the southern regions of Anchorage along Turnagain Arm. After their withdrawal, Girdwood contracted with the neighboring city of Whittier for its policing, and the following year APD provided contract policing to other Turnagain Arm communities. The Fire & EMS Operations Division of the Anchorage Fire Department (AFD) includes thirteen fire stations with over 300 personnel covering three rotating 24-hour shifts. Additionally, there are volunteer fire departments in Girdwood and Chugiak and fire departments on Elmendorf Air Force Base and Fort Richardson, as well as the Airport Police and Fire Department.
  In 2010, Anchorage reported 837.7 violent crimes per 100,000 population and 3,518.0 property crimes per 100,000 population (see table). Anchorage's crime rate, both for violent and property crimes, is higher than for Alaska as a whole or for the U.S. as a whole. When compared with U.S. cities of similar size, Anchorage has a slightly higher rate of violent crime and a slightly lower rate of property crime. Anchorage, and Alaska in general, have very high rates of sexual assault in comparison with the rest of the country, with Anchorage's annual rate of forcible rapes over three times as high as for the U.S. as a whole. In 2010, the rate of rape for Anchorage was 90.9 per 100,000 population, while the U.S. rate was 27.5 per 100,000 population. Alaska Natives are victimized at a much higher rate than their representation in the population.
  The Anchorage Community Survey, a public survey conducted in 2004–2005 by the Justice Center at University of Alaska Anchorage, found that overall, Anchorage residents are fairly satisfied with the performance of the Anchorage Police Department. Most survey respondents perceived the justice system to be "somewhat effective" or "very effective" at apprehending and prosecuting criminal suspects, bringing about just outcomes, and reducing crime.
caption: Anchorage Fire Department engine based at its downtown station, responding to a call early in the morning.
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