Alaska has one of the more complicated solitary confinement pictures in the country. The state has historically had very high segregation rates -- around 10% of its incarcerated population in restricted housing in 2012, compared to a 4% national average at the time. A 2017 joint reform effort between the Alaska Department of Corrections (DOC) and the ACLU of Alaska brought in national experts to push changes. A DOC-commissioned restrictive housing study was completed in November 2024. And in December 2025, Alaska's Office of Children's Advocate (OCA) published findings that DOC's use of restrictive housing with late adolescents violates their legal rights -- documenting conditions that included young people locked in cells with only two 30-to-60 minute out-of-cell periods per day, no programming, no visitors, and no phone calls.
Alaska's geography adds another layer. The state has correctional facilities scattered across an enormous area, and families are often far away. Getting information, maintaining contact, and reaching advocacy organizations is harder than in most states.
What Solitary Confinement Is Called in Alaska
The Alaska Department of Corrections does not use the term "solitary confinement" in its formal policy language. The department uses several distinct categories:
Punitive Segregation (PS): Also called disciplinary segregation. Reserved for people who violate the DOC's Code of Penal Discipline. Under DOC policy, stays are intended to be 3 to 15 days. Low-to-moderate infractions (including indecent exposure, lying, failing to abide by sanitation rules, malingering, or feigning illness or a suicide attempt) can result in up to 20 days. More serious infractions can result in longer stays.
Administrative Detention (AD): Separation from general population pending the completion of disciplinary hearings, investigations, or mental health evaluations and placement decisions. This is non-punitive in nature -- it is a management status while something else is being resolved.
Mental Health / Suicide Prevention Segregation: A separate status used to manage people who are considered a risk to themselves. In practice, this category blurs with administrative detention in many facilities.
In formal reports and litigation, all three are commonly referred to as "restrictive housing" or "segregation." The 2015 Alaska Administrative Review and the 2025 OCA report both used the broader term "restrictive housing" to capture all forms of isolated confinement.
Who Gets Placed in Segregation in Alaska
Punitive segregation follows a finding that someone violated the Code of Penal Discipline. The violation can range from serious conduct (assault, escape attempts) to low-level infractions (lying, sanitation violations). By DOC policy, a guilty finding under the Code of Penal Discipline is the prerequisite for PS.
Administrative Detention is used to separate someone from general population while a disciplinary hearing is pending, while an investigation is ongoing, or while a mental health evaluation or placement decision is being completed. It can also be used for protective purposes when someone faces threats.
The 2015 Alaska Administrative Review found that some facility superintendents were reporting their segregation cells were "maxed out" -- used simultaneously as jail-within-jail management, protective separation, and mental health management, with policies interpreted differently at different facilities.
Conditions in Alaska Segregation Units
The 2025 OCA report documented the conditions in punitive segregation for late adolescent boys (those ages 18-21 housed in adult facilities):
Out-of-cell time: Twice per day for 30 minutes to one hour each time -- primarily to shower. No recreational programming or structured activities were provided during this time.
Property: Personal belongings were prohibited.
Communication: Phone calls were not permitted.
Visits: No visitors were allowed.
Programming: No school or programming was available.
Food: Meals were eaten in the cell.
The OCA characterized these conditions as "highly restrictive" and found DOC documentation of length-of-stay in PS to be inadequate and at times contradictory.
For adult general population facilities, the 2015 administrative review found that conditions varied across Alaska's geographically dispersed facilities, with policy being interpreted differently from one superintendent to the next. Alaska's facilities range from the Anchorage Correctional Complex to facilities in far-flung communities, and inspection and oversight is logistically challenging.
How Long People Stay in Segregation
By DOC policy, punitive segregation stays are intended to be 3 to 15 days. In practice, administrative detention can extend well beyond that while hearings and investigations are pending, and the overall time in restricted housing can accumulate.
The most significant case documenting Alaska's handling of segregation duration is a 2023 Alaska Supreme Court ruling in a case where DOC admitted it had improperly held a prisoner in segregation for 504 days, 335 of which were in solitary confinement. The prisoner filed a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED). The Alaska Supreme Court reversed a lower court dismissal and revived the claim, finding it should proceed. The case was decided on December 22, 2023 and reported publicly in August 2024.
Due Process Before Placement
Punitive segregation requires a disciplinary process under the Code of Penal Discipline. The person must receive notice of the charge and an opportunity to respond before a hearing officer determines guilt and imposes a sanction.
Administrative Detention does not require a prior hearing -- it is a pre-hearing holding status. However, the purpose of AD is to hold someone only until a hearing or investigation is completed, not as a long-term management tool.
In the 504-day case mentioned above, DOC admitted the extended segregation was improper -- acknowledging that the placement was not supported by proper documentation or process.
Protections for Young People
The 2025 OCA report is the most detailed recent accountability document on Alaska solitary confinement practices. It found that DOC's use of restrictive housing with late adolescent boys -- those ages 18-21 who are housed in adult correctional facilities -- violated their legal rights.
Key findings included:
- Conditions of punitive segregation were "highly restrictive" with no programming, no visitors, and no phone access.
- A sharp spike in pepper spray use against adolescent boys in 2024: 132 incidents in 2024 compared to 59 in 2023.
- In-cell restraints used on late adolescent boys 30 times between 2023 and 2024, without DOC analysis or tracking of their use.
- DOC documentation of length-of-stay was inadequate and at times contradictory.
The OCA noted that DOC made some efforts to identify ways to reduce restrictive housing use, including contracting a restrictive housing study in 2023 that was completed in November 2024. That study's recommendations were not publicly released in full as of the OCA's December 2025 report.
Protections for People with Mental Illness
Alaska's segregation policy includes a separate mental health and suicide prevention segregation category, acknowledging that mental health management is one of the primary uses of isolation in its facilities. However, placing someone in isolated confinement as a response to suicidal behavior or mental health crisis is itself a practice that mental health experts and the courts have criticized -- isolation tends to worsen mental health conditions rather than stabilize them.
The 2015 Alaska Administrative Review specifically identified "segregation for mental health management or suicide prevention" as one of the three main uses of solitary in Alaska's correctional facilities and noted that "the negative psychological impacts are well documented."
There is no Alaska statute or DOC policy that explicitly prohibits placing people with serious mental illness in punitive segregation or administrative detention.
Reform Efforts
2017 ACLU-DOC joint reform effort: The ACLU of Alaska and DOC jointly announced a cooperative effort to reduce solitary confinement, bringing in NYU's Segregation Solutions -- a team of national experts -- to tour Alaska prisons and make recommendations. DOC Commissioner Dean Williams framed the goal as making it harder to get into solitary, easier to get out, and offering alternative sanctions. The long-term impact of this effort has not been independently documented in public reporting.
2023-2024 DOC-commissioned restrictive housing study: DOC contracted an independent restrictive housing study in 2023 that was completed in November 2024. The study's findings and recommendations have not been fully released publicly as of available reporting.
2025 OCA report on late adolescents: Alaska's Office of Children's Advocate released findings in December 2025 documenting that DOC's restrictive housing practices with late adolescent boys violated their rights. The OCA report called on DOC to take corrective action and cited inadequate documentation and oversight.
What Families Can Do
Alaska's correctional geography makes family contact more challenging than in most states. Here are the practical steps:
Find where your person is housed. The Alaska DOC provides an offender search on its website at doc.alaska.gov. This is the starting point for all other contact.
Contact the facility directly. With Alaska's dispersed facilities, every inquiry about restrictive housing status, visiting rules, and communication access starts with the facility. Contact numbers and mailing addresses for all Alaska DOC facilities are available at doc.alaska.gov.
Understand the communication restrictions. People in punitive segregation in Alaska may have phone access suspended. Written mail typically has stronger protections than phone or electronic communication. Legal mail is additionally protected. Confirm specific restrictions with the facility.
Document everything. If your person is writing or calling from segregation, keep records of conditions they report, length of stay, whether they have access to a hearing, and whether mental health staff are checking in. This documentation may support a grievance or legal claim later.
File a grievance. The Alaska DOC has an internal grievance process. The person in custody must typically exhaust this process before filing in court. Help your person understand the process and track timelines and responses.
Contact the Office of the Ombudsman. Alaska's Office of the Ombudsman investigates complaints about state agency actions. Complaints about DOC can be filed at ombudsman.alaska.gov.
Contact the ACLU of Alaska. The ACLU of Alaska (aclualaska.org) has been involved in monitoring DOC's segregation practices and may be able to provide information or referrals.
Contact the Office of Children's Advocate if your person is under 21. For late adolescents (18-21) in adult Alaska DOC facilities, the OCA (oca.alaska.gov) has documented and advocated on segregation issues and may be a resource.
Seek legal help. If your person has been in segregation for an extended period -- especially if DOC cannot point to proper documentation of the basis for their continued placement -- consult a prisoner rights attorney familiar with Alaska courts.
Frequently asked questions
What is solitary confinement called in Alaska prisons?
Alaska DOC uses three primary categories: Punitive Segregation (PS, for Code of Penal Discipline violations, intended to be 3-15 days), Administrative Detention (AD, non-punitive, used while hearings or investigations are pending), and a mental health/suicide prevention status for people considered a risk to themselves. In reports and litigation, all three fall under the umbrella of "restrictive housing" or "segregation."
Who can be placed in segregation in Alaska?
Punitive segregation requires a finding that someone violated the Code of Penal Discipline, which can include low-to-moderate infractions like lying or sanitation violations (up to 20 days) as well as serious incidents. Administrative detention can be used for anyone pending a hearing, investigation, or mental health evaluation. The 2015 administrative review found policies were applied inconsistently across facilities.
What are conditions like in Alaska segregation units?
The 2025 OCA report found late adolescent boys in punitive segregation were: locked in cells except for two 30-to-60 minute out-of-cell periods per day (showers only), barred from personal belongings, phone calls, visitors, school, and programming, and required to eat in their cells. Conditions for adults vary by facility. The 2015 administrative review noted significant inconsistency in how policies were applied across Alaska's geographically dispersed facilities.
How long can someone stay in solitary in Alaska?
DOC policy sets punitive segregation at 3 to 15 days. Administrative detention can extend longer while proceedings are pending. In a case decided by the Alaska Supreme Court in December 2023, DOC admitted it had improperly held a prisoner in segregation for 504 days -- 335 of which were in solitary confinement. The court revived the prisoner's intentional infliction of emotional distress claim.
What due process applies before Alaska segregation?
Punitive segregation requires a disciplinary hearing under the Code of Penal Discipline, with notice of the charge and opportunity to respond. Administrative detention does not require a prior hearing -- it is a pre-hearing holding status used while proceedings are pending. In the 504-day case, DOC admitted the extended placement was improper, lacking adequate documentation or process.
Are young people protected from solitary in Alaska?
Not fully. The December 2025 OCA report found that DOC's restrictive housing of late adolescent boys (ages 18-21 in adult facilities) violated their rights. Conditions were found to be "highly restrictive" with no programming, phone access, or visitors. The report also documented a sharp spike in pepper spray use against adolescents (132 incidents in 2024 vs. 59 in 2023) and in-cell restraints used 30 times without adequate DOC tracking. There is no Alaska law banning solitary for this age group.
Are mentally ill people protected from solitary in Alaska?
There is no Alaska statute or DOC policy explicitly prohibiting placement of mentally ill people in punitive segregation. Alaska DOC uses a separate mental health/suicide prevention segregation category, but the 2015 administrative review identified this as a problematic use of isolation, noting that mental health management is one of the three primary reasons solitary is used in Alaska's facilities. No blanket exclusion policy exists.
What did the 2024 Alaska Supreme Court case find?
On December 22, 2023 (publicly reported August 2024), the Alaska Supreme Court reversed the dismissal of a prisoner's intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED) claim against DOC officials who admitted holding him in segregation for 504 days, 335 of which were in solitary confinement. DOC admitted the placement was improper. The court also reversed a finding that the defendants acted within the scope of employment, and reversed the denial of discovery to the prisoner. The case was sent back to proceed.
Can families visit someone in Alaska segregation?
People in punitive segregation in Alaska typically have visits suspended as part of the sanction. People in administrative detention may have visits restricted pending their hearing. Visiting policies vary by facility. Contact the facility directly -- using contact information at doc.alaska.gov -- to confirm current visiting status before traveling, especially given Alaska's distances.
What can families do if someone is in Alaska solitary?
Find your person using the DOC offender search at doc.alaska.gov. Contact the facility directly for information on segregation status, visiting rules, and communication access. Help your person file a grievance through DOC's internal process. Contact the Office of the Ombudsman (ombudsman.alaska.gov) for complaints about DOC. Contact the ACLU of Alaska (aclualaska.org) for referrals. For late adolescents (18-21), contact the Office of Children's Advocate (oca.alaska.gov). If your person has been in segregation for an extended period without adequate documentation, consult a prisoner rights attorney. ---