Anchorage Assembly to consider awareness month for families of homicide victims

The Anchorage Assembly is scheduled to take up a resolution on Nov. 17 recognizing Nov. 20 through Dec. 20 as Survivors of Homicide Victims Awareness Month. All 12 Assembly members and Mayor Suzanne LaFrance are sponsors.

The resolution says the loss reaches beyond families, and that families can face funeral costs, legal fees and, when a breadwinner is killed, housing insecurity.

It also gives Anchorage figures that don't match the state's crime report. The resolution says Anchorage had 51 homicides in 2025, down from 56 the year before, citing the Anchorage Police Department. The Department of Public Safety's "Crime in Alaska, 2025" counts 24 murders reported by Anchorage police in 2025 and 28 in 2024. The resolution's numbers appear to match the statewide count of murder reports before some were found to be unfounded.

Statewide, the report counts 44 murders in 2025, down from 51.

Alaska's Homicide Memorial in downtown Anchorage's Hostetler Park holds 571 names, which are read each year at a ceremony with victims' families. The resolution points families to Victims for Justice, a statewide group that runs a monthly grief group for anyone who has lost a loved one to homicide in Alaska.