Lisa Murkowski

There's a movement in the Commission around Ban the Box----so that when you first make your application for employment, the first thing they see is a box that says yes, I'm a felon.

So then as part of, again, community based justice, in order to successfully reenter, so you've got to have a place to live, you have to have some value there and that typically comes through a job, but now you've come back and you got a…

I'm struck that we have a conflict, an approach almost because of our geography, because of where our people are situated around an enormous state that is challenged by distance and cost.

Well, I'm really glad that you brought up that piece of it because, again, you know, the hearing today is strengthening our Alaska Native families.

What are we doing to bring the community in to say it is okay to rent a home to this individual, it is okay to take a chance, give this individual a second chance by hiring him and at a time when, you know, I don't want to take the risk.

The best way to invest is to not have to have this level of system, an expensive system that sometimes works

As we talk about how we deal with the issues of recidivism, of reentry, of rehabilitation, what I've heard from all of you, whether it's the state approach or tribal or here in Anchorage, it's this community based justice.

We can turn the curve, we can make a difference.

40 to 45 percent of the children that are in custody in our State's juvenile system are Alaska Native children

Well, we have all of them right here, so----

Thank you, Denise. Thank you to each of you for, I think, very insightful comments and we've spent a lot more time hearing from you than what we typically might in a regular hearing.

I really appreciate the fact that you've taken the leadership role of directing some money to Alaska to form Tribal Justice systems.

There's got to be a better way to do it. I think community based justice is a better way.

The partnership that can exist between the tribes and the State and the Federal government, I think, is a long way towards the answer to this problem of recidivism and reentry.

I applaud this Committee for taking action on specific recommendations from the Law and Order Commission's report.

Today, because of leaders like Senator Murkowski, the discussion is able to move forward as tribes offer innovative ways...

Today, because of leaders like yourself, Senator Murkowski, Senator Coghill, Governor Walker, the discussion is able to move forward as tribes offer innovative ways in which tribal programs can work with State and Federal programs in order…

Great, thank you, Senator Coghill, really appreciate your leadership on this.

We both know that there is still more that can be done there, we both know that there continue to be horrible issues as they relate to substance abuse around our country.

Alaska has the 11th fastest prison population growth in the entire country.

Alaska Native people make up 15 percent of our state's population, but they constitute about 36 percent of all prisoners.

I really look forward to Senator Coghill's work at looking at those State barrier crimes.

We're just re-traumatizing them, we're just adding another ace onto the list.

We don't want to be number one in the nation for the number of people that we have incarcerated.

It's not just a Federal responsibility, it's not just a State responsibility, but I do believe it's the responsibility of government to foster community based systems of justice no matter what they are.