Senate Bill 91: Summary of Policy Reforms

Complete issue of Alaska Justice Forum 33(1), Spring 2016 at https://scholarworks.alaska.edu/handle/11122/6883.This article highlights provisions of Senate Bill 91, "Omnibus Criminal Law & Procedure; Corrections Act," related to the recommendations of the Alaska Criminal Justice Commission. SB91 was signed into law on July 11, 2016.Recommendation: Implement Evidence-based Pretrial Practices / Recommendation: Focus Prison Beds on Serious and Violent Offenders / Recommendation: Strengthen Probation and Parole Supervision / Recommendation: Improve Reentry Programming / Recommendation: Ensure Oversight and Accountability / Recommendation: Reinvest in Practices Proven to Reduce Recidivism and Protect Public Safet

Sexual Assaults in Anchorage

Originally published in the Alaska Justice Forum 22(4): 2-3 (Winter 2006).This study examined the characteristics of all sexual assaults reported to the Anchorage Police Department from 2000 through 2003. Key descriptive findings are summarized. * Victims tended to be young and female, with Native women victims in over 45% of reported sexual assaults. * In a majority of the assaults – over 62% – the assailant was not a stranger to the victim. The most common non-stranger relationships included friends and acquaintances. * A majority of the assaults occurred indoors, with 45% taking place at the residence of one or both of those involved. * Sixty-five percent of victims had used alcohol prior to the assault and 74% of suspects had also. * While assaults occurred all over the Municipality of Anchorage, they happened with more frequency in Spenard, Fairview, and Downtown

Expanded Brownfields Program Supports Redevelopment in Alaska

This article also appeared on pp. 7–8 of the Summer 2018 print edition.The Environmental Protection Agency’s Brownfields Program support the redevelopment of property which may have contaminants from prior use. Anchorage, Mat-Su Borough, and Kodiak Island Borough are current recipients of Brownfields funds. This year Congress increased grant limits under the Brownfields Program and expanded eligibility requirements. Alaska Native villages and corporations that received a contaminated facility from the U.S. government under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) are now eligible for Brownfields grants.Redevelopment projects / Increased grant limits / Kodiak, Anchorage and Mat-Su grants / Eligibility expanded / Reference

Prison Visitation Policies in the U.S. And Alaska

This article examines prison visitation in Alaska and nationally based on a 2012 survey of prison visitation policies for all 50 states and in the federal prison system.[Introduction] / Family Visitation and Virtual Visitation / Alaska's Visitation Policies / Topics for Future Study / SIDEBARS / Questions from Prison Visitation Policies: A Fifty State Survey / Alaska Prison Visitation Resource

A Brief Look at VPSOs and Violence against Women Cases

Originally published in Alaska Justice Forum 28(2–3): 10–11 (Summer/Fall 2011).This study examined sexual assault and sexual abuse of a minor cases that were reported to Alaska State Troopers in 2003 and 2004, and assault cases involving domestic violence that were reported to Alaska State Troopers in 2004. All analyses were restricted to cases that included only one victim and only one adult suspect. From Alaska Department of Law records, we examined whether cases were referred for prosecution, whether cases were accepted for prosecution, and whether cases resulted in a conviction. We also examined if these legal resolutions were different when the first responder was a local paraprofessional police officer (i.e., a Village Public Safety Officer, a Village Police Officer, or a Tribal Police Officer). • Overall, local paraprofessional police significantly increased the probability of referral for sexual assault cases, had no effect on the probability of referral for sexual abuse of a minor cases, and decreased the probability of referral for assault cases involving domestic violence. (Cases are referred for prosecution by the Alaska State Troopers to the Alaska Department of Law.) • For all three offenses (sexual assault, sexual abuse of a minor, and assault involving domestic violence), local paraprofessional police significantly increased the probability that cases would be accepted for prosecution. • Local paraprofessional police did not impact the probability of conviction in sexual assault cases, but significantly increased the probability of conviction in sexual abuse of minor cases and in assault cases involving domestic violence. Cases that resulted in a conviction may have been plea bargained to reduced charges

Tribal Courts in Alaska

This article introduces the Fall 2014/Winter 2014 issue of the Alaska Justice Forum, which focuses on topics related to tribal courts in Alaska

Alaska Victimization Survey: Aleutian/Pribilof Islands

This article also appeared on p. 4 of the Spring 2018 print edition.This article provides an overview of key results from the 2014–2015 Alaska Victimization Survey (AVS) for the Aleutian/Pribilof Island region, which was conducted from April to June 2014 and May to August 2015. Among the survey's results was the finding that 45 percent of adult women in the region have experienced intimate partner violence, sexual violence or both in their lifetime.Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, Alaska Department of Public Safet

UAA Justice Center 40th Anniversary 1975–2015

The timeline of selected milestones appearing on pp. 2–3 (split-page format) is also available separately in a single-page format (12.7 x 3.8 in).In celebration of its 40th anniversary, the UAA Justice Center presents a timeline of selected milestones from its history.[Introduction] / UAA Justice Center Selected Milestones, 1975–201

Benefit vs. Cost of Alaska Criminal Justice Programs

A shorter version of this article appeared on p. 5 of the Winter 2018 print edition. / The report discussed in this article, "Alaska Results First Initiative: Adult Criminal Justice Program Benefit Cost Analysis" by Araceli Valle (2017), can be found at https://scholarworks.alaska.edu/handle/11122/7961. See also the accompanying article, "Expanded View of Recidivism in Alaska" by Araceli Valle, at https://scholarworks.alaska.edu/handle/11122/8091.The Alaska Results First report released by Alaska Justice Information Center (AJiC) in October 2017 shows the benefit to cost ratio (monetary return on the state’s investment) for Alaska's adult criminal justice programs, provides tools for assessing how changing the cost structure and delivery method can impact benefit to cost ratios, and provides a new eight-year study of Alaska recidivism rates. This article briefly summarizes the report and provides an introduction to an accompanying article about the report's findings on recidivism in Alaska.Benefits and costs / Calculating recidivism / New information from Alaska RF / Referenc

When Mental Illness Becomes a Police Matter

This article also appeared on p. 8 of the Fall 2017 print edition.Mental illness is not a police matter in and of itself and most people with mental illness (MI) are not involved in the criminal justice system. When police do interact with an individual with MI, care needs to be taken not to label the person as the problem but to focus on behavior that causes harm to self and others.Interactions usually not violent / Hard to quantify / Reference