The UAA Justice Center, established by the Alaska legislature in 1975, has a mandate to provide statewide justice‐related education, research, and service. The Justice Center is an interdisciplinary unit that provides undergraduate, graduate, and professional education; conducts research in the areas of crime, law, and justice; and provides service to government units, justice agencies, and community organizations throughout urban and rural Alaska to promote a safe, healthy, and just society.

Justice Center website: http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/justice/

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  • The Alaska Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (AK-SAKI) Research Component: A Process Improvement Analysis of the Alaska Department of Public Safety’s Sexual Assault Investigation, Prosecution, And Victim-Survivor Engagement And Support Processes

    Johnson, Ingrid (Justice Center, University of Alaska Anchorage, 2022-04-29)
    The research component of the Alaska Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (AK-SAKI) was designed to guide the Alaska Department of Public Safety (DPS) and their agency partners in making recommendations to improve sexual assault investigations, prosecutions, and victim-survivor engagement and support processes. Using qualitative interview data from key stakeholders including victim-survivors, quantitative survey responses from victim-survivors, and agency records from DPS and the Alaska Department of Law, three questions are answered in this report: 1. What are key stakeholders’ experiences with sexual assault investigations, prosecutions, and victim-survivor engagement and support, and how do those experiences compare to their perceptions of just outcomes? 2. How common are the experiences and just outcomes identified by key stakeholders? 3. What factors shape the likelihood of achieving those just outcomes?
  • Adverse Childhood Experiences, Intimate Partner Violence, and Sexual Violence Among Persons Who May Be Alaska Mental Health Trust Beneficiaries: Findings from the Alaska Victimization Survey

    Gonzalez, Andrew; Johnson, Ingrid; Payne, Troy C. (Alaska Justice Information Center, University of Alaska Anchorage, 2021-10-25)
    The Alaska Justice Information Center (AJiC) at the University of Alaska Anchorage has released a new report, “Adverse Childhood Experiences, Intimate Partner Violence, and Sexual Violence Among Persons Who May Be Alaska Mental Health Trust Beneficiaries: Findings from the Alaska Victimization Survey.” This report used data from the 2020 Alaska Victimization Survey (AVS) to estimate the extent to which victims of intimate partner violence and sexual assault were Alaska Mental Health Trust beneficiaries. It also estimated the extent to which Alaska Mental Health Trust beneficiaries experienced Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Alaska Mental Health Trust beneficiaries include Alaskans with mental illness, developmental disabilities, chronic alcohol or drug addiction, Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia, and traumatic brain injuries.
  • 2020 Statewide Alaska Victimization Survey Final Report

    Johnson, Ingrid (Justice Center, University of Alaska Anchorage, 2021-10)
    Every human being has the right to be safe and free from violence in their own homes, relationships, and communities. The Alaska Victimization Survey provides comprehensive statewide and regional data to guide planning and policy development and to evaluate the impact of prevention and intervention services. The 2020 survey was designed to provide estimates that could be compared to previous statewide estimates from 2015 and 2010. Results are used to support prevention and intervention efforts that reduce violence against women.
  • Alaska Police Officer Use of Deadly Force: 2010-2020

    Payne, Troy C.; Kisarauskas, Yevgenii; Henderson, Robert E. (Alaska Justice Information Center, University of Alaska Anchorage, 2021-04-21)
    The Alaska Department of Law Office of Special Prosecutions (OSP) and the Alaska Justice Information Center (AJiC) partnered to answer two questions regarding police officer use of deadly force. First, to what extent existing OSP investigative casefiles could be used to fully describe the nature of uses of lethal force incidents in Alaska. Second, to describe lethal use of force incidents using the available information. We found that while OSP casefiles files contained sufficient information for OSP’s purpose of determining whether criminal charges are warranted under the circumstances, the OSP casefiles lacked some information of interest to policymakers and the public. AJiC analyzed all OSP casefiles involving officer uses of lethal force from 2010 to October 2020, covering a total of 92 incidents, 100 citizens, and 295 officers. Just over half of citizens died as a result of the incident in which deadly force was used, with another quarter sustaining serious injuries. Nearly every citizen involved displayed or used a weapon. No human officers were killed in the incidents reviewed, but two police dogs were killed, and three officers were seriously injured. Over a third of incidents involved the citizen making statements indicating they wanted to commit suicide-by-cop, and over two-thirds of incidents involved a citizen exhibiting some indication of mental illness during the incident. A third of incidents involved a citizen who had consumed alcohol, and methamphetamine/amphetamine was the most common drug other than alcohol, involved in more than a quarter of incidents. We offer the following recommendations for data collection based on our project: 1. The State of Alaska should develop a comprehensive statewide data collection regarding police officer uses of lethal force housed at an agency that can compile and use the information to drive policy. 2. OSP casefiles can serve as a starting point for data collection, but OSP case files cannot be the sole data source. 3. The development of a comprehensive data collection platform should include mandatory standardized data elements, starting with the FBI’s National Use-of-Force Data Collection Elements. 4. Other data elements should be considered for inclusion by a broad group of stakeholders from inside and outside of the criminal justice system. 5. Detailed use of lethal force incident data should be public where possible — but that may not always be possible or advisable.
  • AJiC Tableau Dashboard Style Guide

    Payne, Troy C.; Kisarauskas, Yevgenii; Slone, Avram; Gonzalez, Andrew (2020-09-02)
    This document describes the broad design and style conventions of Alaska Justice Information Center (AJiC) Tableau data dashboards. This document is meant as a style guide, and deviations from the general guidelines may be necessary for specific projects. Design goals and styles for every part of a dashboard are presented in the document.
  • Alaska State Troopers C Detachment Patrol Staffing Study Final Report and Description of Police Incidents

    Payne, Troy C.; Kisarauskas, Yevgenii (Alaska Justice Information Center, University of Alaska Anchorage, 2020-07-07)
    This report provides a workload-based staffing estimate for the Alaska State Troopers C Detachment sworn staff, including troopers and court service officers. The report begins by examining incidents serviced by C Detachment for meaningful changes over years, seasonal variation, and variation by incident type. Next, we describe challenges of creating a workload- based model for staffing C Detachment, followed by summaries of interviews with sergeants in C Detachment and a description of C Detachment’s stated goals. The model is specified next, including a post-by-post staffing recommendation for C Detachment based on the 75th percentile of the number of reports, adjusted for leave and other factors.
  • Homicide in Alaska: 1976-2016

    Gonzalez, Andrew (Alaska Justice Information Center, University of Alaska Anchorage, 2020-05-20)
    AJiC's Homicide in Alaska: 1976-2016 compiled 41 years of data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR). This is the first time these data on homicide in Alaska have been examined across a multi-year timespan. The report describes homicide incidents, victims and suspects. These characteristics included weapon use, relationships between victims and suspects, circumstances, demographic characteristics, and more presenting the differences among race and sex groups. Additionally, the report makes note of the magnitude and characteristics of homicides involving American Indian and Alaska Native female victims, as well as how the rate of homicide victimization differs by race and sex of the victim. In addition to the full report, three one-page fact sheets are included: 1) Homicide Victimization Fact Sheet; 2) Firearms Fact Sheet, and; 3) Relationships Fact Sheet.
  • An Exploratory Study of Changes Accompanying the Implementation of a Community-Based, Participatory Team Police Organizational Model

    Angell, John E. (Michigan State University, 1975)
    This exploratory research examines the attitudes of citizens, police clientele, and police in an area where a decentralized, participatory (collegial) team police operation has been implemented, and compares these attitudes with those in a similar neighborhood policed by a classical organizational structure and traditional procedures. The Team Police Model of this study consisted basically of 15 generalist police officers who, with the participation of local citizens, were responsible for defining police goals, priorities and procedures and providing all police services in a precisely defined, low-economic, minority, residential area of Holyoke, Massachusetts for a test period of approximately nine months. The Team used collegial methods for decisionmaking and task forces for performing management functions. The Team followed a "service", rather than "law enforcement" operational philosophy. The control neighborhood was policed by an organization arrangement which was in general consistent with Classical tenets as stated by Max Weber. A traditional "law enforcement" philosophy was used in the Classical neighborhood. The basic assumption underlying this study was police effectiveness in crime prevention and order maintenance is dependent on a supportive public. The primary problem researched was whether public and clientele attitudes toward the police were more supportive in the Team Police than a Classical Police area. Of secondary concern was the impact of the Team Police experiment on police officers attitudes. Perhaps the most important conclusion to be derived from this study is that, contrary to conventional wisdom, the collegial Team Police Model as implemented in this project did not have a negative impact on any variable investigated. The positive impact of the project on most variables supports the value of further research with a community-based, collegial team organizational structure for police services.
  • The Resurgence of Tribal Courts: A Tribal Judge's Perspective

    Voluck, David A. (Justice Center, University of Alaska Anchorage, 2013-11-18)
    Judge David Voluck is an attorney in Sitka, Alaska, and in 2008 was appointed chief judge of the Sitka Tribal Court. He also serves as magistrate judge for the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes and is presiding judge pro tem for the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island tribal government. He is introduced here by Dr. Ryan Fortson of the UAA Justice Center. In this podcast Judge Voluck presents a context for tribal courts and Native law, outlines the development of Indian law in the United States, and discusses tribal sovereignty and the role of tribal courts in Alaska. This presentation was recorded on Monday, November 18th, 2013 at the University of Alaska Anchorage/Alaska Pacific University Consortium Library on the UAA campus.
  • Alaska Justice Forum ; Vol. 1, No. 8 (December 1977)

    Stern, Barry; Havelock, John E.; Ring, Peter Smith; UAA Criminal Justice Center (Criminal Justice Center, University of Alaska Anchorage, 1977-12)
    The December 1977 issue of the Alaska Justice Forum profiles the first Criminal Justice Center student to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Justice. Other articles describe the provisions of the proposed Revised Alaska Criminal Code involving robbery, armed robbery, and accomplice liability; and examines how government systems can be designed to reduce opportunity for public misconduct. Also included are a digest of recent Alaska Supreme Court opinions, the Spring 1978 semester schedule of Justice B.A. courses at University of Alaska campuses in Anchorage and Fairbanks, and a justice training calendar.
  • Alaska Justice Forum ; Vol. 1, No. 7 (November 1977)

    Endell, Roger V.; Stern, Barry; Moeller, Kim; Havelock, John E. (Criminal Justice Center, University of Alaska Anchorage, 1977-11)
    A $183,000 LEAA grant will enable the Alaska Division of Corrections to develop a correctional master plan for improving the statewide correctional system; and the staff counsel of the Alaska Criminal Code Revision Subcommission describes the circumstances in which the use of force, or threat to use force, is justifiable and not a criminal offense under the proposed Revised Alaska Criminal Code. Other articles in the November 1977 issue of the Alaska Justice Forum examines the North Slope Borough Department of Public Safety's initiation in January 1977 of apprehension and short-term detention of intoxicated persons; and highlights the Alaska Supreme Court's concern with the effect of mounting caseloads. Also included are a digest of recent Alaska Supreme Court opinions, announcements of upcoming conferences and seminars, and a justice training calendar.
  • Alaska Justice Forum ; Vol. 1, No. 6 (October 1977)

    Carpeneti, Anne; Endell, Roger V.; Ring, Peter Smith; Hutchings, Steve (Criminal Justice Center, University of Alaska Anchorage, 1977-10)
    The lead article of the October 1977 issue of the Alaska Justice Forum describes the provisions of House Bill 549, which would comprehensively revise Alaska's statutes pertaining to drug offenses. Other articles report on the 107th Congress of the American Correctional Association held August 21-25, 1977 in Milwaukee, describes reclassification of crimes of assault under the proposed Revised Alaska Criminal Code, a present the sixth of a six-part series on the history of the law of search and seizure. A justice training calendar is also included.
  • Alaska Justice Forum ; Vol. 1, No. 5 (September 1977)

    Warden, Arlene; Stern, Barry; Ring, Peter Smith; UAA Criminal Justice Center (Criminal Justice Center, University of Alaska Anchorage, 1977-09)
    Findings of an Alaska Judicial Council report on felony sentencing patterns indicate that factors such as defendant's race, occupation, and background, as well as criminal history, have a significant bearing on felony sentencing in Alaska. In other articles in the September 1977 issue of the Alaska Justice Forum, the staff counsel of the Alaska Criminal Code Revision Subcommission describes classification of the three crimes of murder, manslaughter, and criminally negligent manslaughter under the proposed Revised Alaska Criminal Code, and the fifth of a six-part series on the history of the law of search and seizure is presented. The issue also includes announcements of upcoming meetings and conferences, resources, and a justice training calendar.
  • Alaska Justice Forum ; Vol. 1, No. 4 (August 1977)

    Stern, Barry; Havelock, John E.; Read, Peter Smith (Criminal Justice Center, University of Alaska Anchorage, 1977-08)
    In the lead article of the August 1977 Alaska Justice Forum, the staff counsel of the Alaska Criminal Code Revision Subcommission describes the reclassification of sexual offenses under the proposed Revised Alaska Criminal Code. Other articles include the fourth of a six-part series on the history of the law of search and seizure and description of a new system to be used in processing of grant applications by the Governor's Commission on the Administration of Justice. The issue also includes announcements of upcoming meetings and conferences, resources, and Fall 1977 justice courses offered at University of Alaska campuses.
  • Alaska Justice Forum ; Vol. 1, No. 3 (July 1977)

    Rubinstein, Michael L.; Hill, Judy; Angell, John E.; Ring, Peter Smith; Havelock, John E. (Criminal Justice Center, University of Alaska Anchorage, 1977-07)
    The July1977 issue of the Alaska Justice Forum leads with a presentation of salient findings from the Alaska Judicial Council's interim report of the Alaska attorney general's ban on plea bargaining. Other articles include a history of the Alaska Criminal Justice Planning Agency (CJPA), which serves as staff to the Governor's Commission on the Administration of Justice, a description of the newly developed two-year and four-year Justice degree programs at the University of Alaska, and a critical look at the misuse of public opinion surveys to address criminal justice issues. The third of a six-part series on the history of the law of search and seizure is accompanied by a review of U.S. case law on search and seizure. Upcoming meetings and seminars are announced.
  • Alaska Justice Forum ; Vol. 1, No. 2 (June 1977)

    Ring, Peter Smith; Conn, Stephen; UAA Criminal Justice Center (Criminal Justice Center, University of Alaska Anchorage, 1977-06)
    The June 1977 issue of the Alaska Justice Forum leads with an article describing the work of the Alaska Criminal Code Revision Subcommission and provisions of the proposed Alaska Revised Criminal Code. Other articles discuss projections for criminal justice employment in Alaska, citizen involvement in crime prevention, and innovations in handling minor disputes. A review of Alaska case law involving Miranda rights and second of a six-part series on the history of the law of search and seizure are also presented.
  • Alaska Justice Forum ; Vol. 1, No. 1 (May 1977)

    Havelock, John E.; Ring, Peter Smith; UAA Criminal Justice Center (Criminal Justice Center, University of Alaska Anchorage, 1977-05)
    The Alaska Justice Forum, a pilot project funded through a grant from the Governor's Commission on the Administration of Justice, will be built around educational material for Alaska justice system professionals, according to the lead article in the inaugural issue of the Forum. Other article include a review of recent court decisions related to the right of an accused to have counsel at pre-indictment lineups, first of a six-part series on the history of the law of search and seizure, an update on the ongoing revision of Alaska's criminal code, and a description of continuing education courses and seminars for criminal justice professionals being developed by the Criminal Justice Center.
  • Alaska Justice Forum ; Vol. 2, No. 10 (November 1978)

    Bruce, Kevin; Lederman, Sema; UAA Criminal Justice Center (Criminal Justice Center, University of Alaska Anchorage, 1978-11)
    The November 1978 issue of the Alaska Justice Forum leads with a description of Project PROSECUTOR (PROSecutor's Enhanced Charging Using Tested Options and Research), a project of the Alaska Department of Law and the UAA Criminal Justice Center to improve prosecutor screening and legal advising to police and to establish a pretrial intervention program. Standing Together Against Rape (STAR), a 24-hour crisis intervention and advocacy service for victims of sexual assault, opened in Anchorage in May 1978. The state of Washington has adopted a sweeping new juvenile justice code, which went into effect July 1, 1978, replacing the original code adopted in 1913. Also included are digests of recent Alaska Supreme Court opinions and points brought up in criminal appeals cases, the winter 1978–1979 schedule of classes offered by the Justice B.A. program at UAA, announcement of an upcoming police education symposium, and a justice training calendar.
  • Alaska Justice Forum ; Vol. 2, No. 9 (October 1978)

    Barry, Douglas; Edscorn, Paul L.; UAA Criminal Justice Center (Criminal Justice Center, University of Alaska Anchorage, 1978-10)
    The October 1978 issue of the Alaska Justice Forum features articles exploring the implications of the Alaska Supreme Court's order, issued September 18,1978, to permit television cameras into Alaska courtrooms, making Alaska the fourteenth state to permit some form of TV coverage in courts; and describing efforts nationally and in Alaska to establish victim-witness assistance programs. Also included are digests of recent Alaska Supreme Court opinions and points brought up in criminal appeals cases, announcement of an upcoming conference on justice innovation, and a justice training calendar.
  • Alaska Justice Forum ; Vol. 2, No. 8 (September 1978)

    Ring, Peter Smith; Hornaday, James C.; UAA Criminal Justice Center (Criminal Justice Center, University of Alaska Anchorage, 1978-09)
    The September 1978 issue of the Alaska Justice Forum leads with an article proposing alternatives to the exclusionary rule, which requires the suppression of evidence resulting from unconstitutional searches and seizures. Homer District Court Judge James C. Hornaday describes current trends in criminal law. The decision of the Alaska Supreme Court in William A. Rust v. State of Alaska (584 P.2d 38 (1978)) in regards to rights of prisoners to psychological or psychiatric treatment is discussed. Additional articles discuss community service as an alternative sentence and a nationwide study involving 30 police departments on predicting success in clearing burglary cases. Also included are digests of recent Alaska Supreme Court opinions and points brought up in criminal appeals cases, announcements of an upcoming death investigation seminar, and a justice training calendar.

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