Nome Police Department is working hard to heal decades-old mistrust between itself and the community it serves. Reporting by KNOM in 2021 revealed that in the 2010s many crimes in Nome had gone uncharged, backing up with statistics the experience of the city’s Native population. In the wake of this reporting, the City of Nome recommended that its police department seek accreditation, which it earned in April of this year.
The award from the Northwest Accreditation Alliance comes after a four-year overhaul of the police department’s policies and practices, including reporting, handcuffing, searching, and evidence management. Nome Police Department is now one of five agencies in Alaska – and among the approximately 1% of police departments nationwide – to achieve accreditation.
According to police chief William Crockett, “Accreditation is not an end all, be all;” it will require a large investment in annual recurring training for officers. But the expense is well worth it, as Crockett adds, “We have made advances investigating crimes of domestic violence and sexual assault, and we will not stop.” Indeed, according to data from the city, sexual assaults in Nome dropped from an annual average of over 100 to just 29 last year.
Nome Police Department drew praise from Mayor John Handeland for listening to and acting on the public’s concerns. City of Nome Public Information Officer Megan Onders said that while challenges remain, residents should feel reassured that the city has invested in a professional police force. In her words, “Nome is a safe place. That’s more than a lot of communities can say.”
