Parole and Probation in Alaska, 2002–2016

Underlying data is available in both Excel and PDF format. (Download below.)This fact sheet presents data on the characteristics of offenders who came under the supervision of the Alaska Department of Corrections, Division of Probation and Parole (DOC-PP) between 2002 and 2016. Probation and parole offender data are from the Alaska Department of Corrections’ annual Offender Profile publication. Overall trends saw numbers of probationers and parolees increasing from 2002 to 2012, then decreasing through 2016. The majority of probationers and parolees are between 20 and 34 years old. The trend for both males and females followed the overall trend, increasing from 2002 to 2012 then decreasing. On average, from 2002 to 2016, Alaska Natives were 26.7% of the probation and parole population, Asian & or Pacific Islander 4.1%, Black 8.7%, and White 56.1%.Overall / Age / Gender / Ethnicity / Summary / Note

Value of Stolen Property Reported in Alaska, 1985–2016

Data is available in both Excel and PDF format. (Download below.)This fact sheet presents data on the value of stolen property reported in Alaska from 1985 to 2016 as reported in the Department of Public Safety publication Crime in Alaska. Overall, the 31-year trend reveals that the total value of stolen property in Alaska was relatively static with a trough beginning in 2008 and rising in 2014. The increase in stolen property value from 2014 to 2016 was mainly due to increases in the aggregate values of stolen motor vehicles and miscellaneous items. After adjusting for inflation, the highest total value of stolen property was recorded in 1990 at $61,651,724. The lowest total value of stolen property recorded was in 2011 at$22,189,499. Of the different property types, motor vehicles represented the largest value and share of stolen property. On average, motor vehicles were 53.7% ($24,246,790 per year) of the total value of stolen property.Stolen property / Total value of stolen property / Currency, notes, etc. / Jewelry and precious metals / Clothing and furs / Locally stolen motor vehicles / Office equipment / TV, radios, cameras, etc. / Firearms / Household goods / Miscellaneous Summary / Note

Motor Vehicle Theft Arrests Reported in Alaska, 1985–2015

Data is available in both Excel and PDF format. (Download below.)This fact sheet presents data on motor vehicle theft arrests reported in Alaska from 1985 to 2016 as reported in the Alaska Department of Public Safety publication Crime in Alaska. Overall, the motor vehicle arrest rate consistently declined between 1990 and 2014 when it reached the lowest level in the 1985–2016 period. The motor vehicle arrest rate rebounded in 2015 and 2016. Increases in Alaska motor vehicle arrest rates in 2015 and 2016 were particularly pronounced among adults and males, while motor vehicle arrest rates for juveniles and females remained minimal in comparison. On average, adults accounted for 62.6 percent and juveniles for 37.4 percent of all arrests for motor vehicle thefts reported in Alaska from 1985 to 2016. Males accounted for 81.8 percent of all motor vehicle theft arrests, females 18.2 percent.Motor vehicle theft arrests / Oveally motor vehicle theft arrest rates / Arrest rates by age / Arrest rates by gender / Summary / Note

Effect of Alaska Fiscal Options On Children and Families

Alaska’s state government faces an unprecedented challenge, with the need to close an estimated $3 billion gap between projected revenues and expenditures in fiscal year 2017. Total unrestricted state General Fund revenue in fiscal year 2016 (the 12 months ending June 30, 2016) was$1.3 billion, or about $1,800 per resident. That was barely more than the state dispenses annually to Alaska school districts, to support public education (Alaska Office of Management and Budget, Enacted Fiscal Summary). Despite low oil prices and declining production, petroleum revenues still accounted for 72 percent of these funds (Alaska Revenue Sources Book, Fall 2016, Alaska Department of Revenue, Tax Division). Alaska is the only state that does not have either state income or sales taxes. It is clear that Alaskans will soon have to accept some form of broad-based revenue measure to enable continued funding of basic public services. A 2016 analysis by ISER researchers discussed the potential effects on Alaska’s economy and households of various options to reduce expenditures and increase revenues.1 That study examined how the effects of revenue measures varied for Alaska households with different levels of income. These same revenue measures and expenditure cuts are also likely to have a much bigger effect on some households than others, depending on the presence and number of children in the family. This study extends the previous analysis by specifically examining how different options would be likely to affect families and children. Many large expenditures in the state budget can easily be identified as specifically benefiting children. These include state-funded programs such as the Alaska Public School Foundation program and the Division of Juvenile Justice and Office of Children’s Services, for example, as well as joint federal-state programs such as Medicaid and Denali Kidcare. Less obvious are the effects on children of potential measures to fund these and other state expenditures. This study focuses on describing and quantifying the effects of alternative state revenue options on Alaska families and children. In addition to considering how the revenue measures might affect families with children compared to households without children, we also consider how the burden of each measure might differ for rural and urban families.National Science Foundation Alaska Children's Trust UA Strategic Investment FUnd

Having It All: Pleading Guilty Without Forfeiting the Right to Appeal

Pleading guilty and moving for an appeal of a pretrial suppression ruling has not been viewed as an efficient allocation of judicial resources. However, it is terribly inefficient to force the State to trial solely to preserve appeal rights on a pretrial objection. Attempts by courts and the legislature to balance these competing interests have produced a confusing and dangerous mix of contradictory rules. Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure (TRAP) 25.2 is the latest iteration of such rules. Appeals may be taken following a negotiated guilty plea or nolo contendere plea, if “the substance of the appeal was raised by written motion and ruled on before trial.” If a plea bargain can be struck, the court’s ruling on a pretrial suppression motion can be appealed. It does not apply to all cases. Non-negotiated, or open, pleas simply are not mentioned. If a bargain cannot be struck, a defendant who enters a plea essentially waives any appeal right she might have had based on TRAP 25.2. The defendant who gains an advantage under TRAP 25.2 regarding one kind of error finds herself disadvantaged regarding another. Young v. State determined that a valid guilty plea waives the right to appeal a claim of error only when the judgment of guilt was rendered independent of and is not supported by the error. If no plea is bargained for, the defendant now may appeal errors occurring at or after the plea is entered. The same defendant who negotiates a plea is subject to TRAP 25.2, and may lose her right to appeal subsequent errors unless the judge consents to the appeal

Charter Air Travel: Paper Airplanes in a Dogfight (Comment)

Air transportation has traditionally been considered the most expensive form of travel. In that price context, the charter is an anomaly. Supplemental air carriers have built multi-million dollar businesses exclusively from the charter trade, and millions of passengers have flown by charter. An anomaly, however, is inherently suspect and becomes proportionally more suspect as it infringes upon the status quo. Resolution of questions concerning the viability of the charter concept lies in a full understanding of the different charter forms available, the possible alternatives to these forms, the advantages and disadvantages of each, and the best way to accomplish the purported charter goal of economical recreation travel

When Special Needs Meet Probable Cause: Denying the Devil Benefit of Law

Removing laws to pursue the lawbreaker may be well intentioned, but the result is that society is susceptible to the evils those laws protect against. The traditional Fourth Amendment safeguards--probable cause and warrants--have been abandoned due to the development of a reasonableness standard because of the presence of “special needs” that were used to justify searches. The adoption of this alternative approach to Fourth Amendment interpretation was signalled by the truly landmark case of Terry v. Ohio. By adopting the “reasonableness” analysis, the Supreme Court altered the impact of the exclusionary rule without directly modifying the rule. After Griffin v. Wisconsin, the Court was always careful to balance the interests to determine whether the search was reasonable, but once special needs were found, the balance inevitably tipped in favor of reasonableness. The judiciary is the only branch capable of consistently aspirational decisionmaking. The Constitution does not except Fourth Amendment prohibitions from application in cases of important governmental need, like law enforcement; it speaks directly only to protecting “the right of the people to be secure.” Surely the Framers did not intend for the nation\u27s highest court to engage in the kind of ad hoc balancing that the search for reasonableness requires. Even if the Supreme Court wished to facilitate the detection and prosecution of crime, it has a higher purpose to safeguard the constitutional protections of those not within the criminal justice system, those not before the trial court accused of crime

The Growing Role Of Fortuity In Texas Criminal Law

Texas’ recent departure from culpability based crimes now means luck plays a bigger role in the punishment for these crimes. Texas has departed from the traditional notion of punishment based on individual fault, and has arrived at a place where these “new” ways of conceptualizing criminal responsibility adequately and satisfactorily account for the interests served by a more restrictive definition of criminal fault. Traditionally, criminal responsibility attached only when mens rea combined with volitional conduct--or the withholding of some required act--to produce a public harm. In Texas, there seems to be a trend to punish actors for the harm they cause, regardless of their culpability and conduct. The reliance on transferred intent principles is not limited to felony-murder in Texas. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals held transferred intent, as applied in Honea, supplements the felony-murder rule to provide punishment for all manner of unforeseen consequences. Also, the “Calderon Law” provides punishment enhancement without regard for the culpability of the person fleeing or the risk assumed by the pursuing officer; the net result is that the lucky are punished in accordance with their fault. Neither retributivism or the “just deserts” theory is served by the increased punishment for unintended consequences. By exploiting opportunities in pre-existing law, and creating new opportunities to punish randomly those who cause harm, Texas\u27s courts and legislature risk undermining confidence in the criminal justice system. Texas may not identify or sympathize easily with all of those whose actions produce such harm, but reliance on “just deserts” rather than the pull of retribution will establish a system in which criminal responsibility turns primarily, and sometimes exclusively, on chance