Fire Island Public Opinion Survey: Summary of Findings

Abstract

Under the terms of a contract between the Alaska Department of Corrections and the University of Alaska, Anchorage, to determine the feasibility of placing a prison on Fire Island, the UAA School of Justice in November 1986 conducted a public opinion telephone survey of a random sample of one thousand residents of the Municipality of Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. Results indicated that respondents favored spending money to prevent and deter crime rather than to punish prisoners or to build additional prisons. When informed about the increased cost of construction and operation of a prison on Fire Island in comparison with other potential sites in Southcentral Alaska, they did not favor building a prison on Fire Island. However, in deciding the appropriate location for a new prison, cost of construction was not deemed as important as either the impact of the prison on the local economy or the costs associated with everyday operations and programs of the new prison.