Employment Barriers and Domestic Violence

Research has found the link between perpetrator unemployment and domestic violence to be so significant that experts conclude any effective domestic violence prevention strategy must address unemployment and male poverty.[Main article] / [SIDEBAR:] Source

Revisiting Alaska's Sex Offender Registration and Public Notification Statute

Originally published in the Alaska Justice Forum 25(1–2): 2–5 (Spring/Summer 2008)This article examines the background and judicial interpretation of Alaska's sex offender registration and public notification statute, the new federal requirements for state sex offender registries and public notice under the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, and weaknesses in both Alaska's existing system and the enhanced requirements of the new federal legislation. These weaknesses include: * Absence of incentives for offenders to seek therapy or treatment; * Failure to provide for individualized risk assessment that would differentiate between those offenders who pose a negligible or very low risk of re-offending from those who pose a continuing public risk — a failure that causes unwarranted marginalization of low risk offenders and diminishes the overall effectiveness of the public notification system; * Public notice provisions so broad as to substantially impede offenders' reintegration into their families, their community, and the workforce, and potentially chilling family reporting; * Internet posting requirements associated with severe stigmatization and public harassment, and concomitant emotional destabilization and isolation of offenders — factors that may actually increase the risk of recidivism and community harm. * Because the Walsh Act conditions state receipt of Byrne Grant funds on compliance with its enhanced registration and notice requirements, there is little Alaska can do to remedy the above weaknesses and still remain eligible for Byrne funds. However, the article concludes with a recommendation for limited changes to our statute that would minimize, to the extent possible, its adverse effect on offenders' ability to find employment; omit the lowest risk offenders from internet posting requirements; and provide those incentives for treatment permissible under the Walsh Act

The Hidden Impact of a Criminal Conviction: A Brief Overview of Collateral Consequences in Alaska

A slightly different version of this article was published in the Alaska Justice Forum: "The Hidden Impact of a Criminal Conviction: A Brief Overview of Collateral Consequences in Alaska" by Deborah Periman. Alaska Justice Forum 24(3): 1, 6–12 (Fall 2007). (https://www.uaa.alaska.edu/academics/college-of-health/departments/justice-center/alaska-justice-forum/24/3fall2007/a_collateral.cshtml).Collateral consequences, a term used in this paper to refer generally to the effect of any measure that might increase the negative consequences of a criminal conviction, fall roughly into three categories: impaired access to, or enjoyment of, the ordinary rights and benefits associated with citizenship or residency, such as voting or driving; impaired economic opportunity, primarily through reduction of the range of available employment; and increased severity of sanctions in any subsequent criminal proceeding brought against the offender. These indirect but significant consequences of a felony or misdemeanor conviction are receiving increasing attention from policy makers, ethicists, and the bar. Setting aside issues of constitutional or statutory rights, the growing web of civil disabilities triggered by a criminal conviction raises fundamental questions about what makes sense as a matter of public policy. This paper examines policy considerations of collateral consequences and provides a preliminary effort to list all of the provisions of Alaska state law that may diminish in some respect the opportunities available to an individual with a criminal conviction in his or her background.Policy Considerations: Criminal Administration, Economics, and Public Safety / Policy Considerations: Ethics and Fundamental Fairness / Collection of Collateral Consequences Statutes and Regulations in Alaska / Bibliograph

Justice Center Research Overview; Vol. 4

Presents a brief history of sex offender registries and notification programs nationally and in Alaska; describes provisions of Alaska's registry/notification laws; and discusses recent research findings about the effectiveness of such laws and their impact on offenders

Collateral Consequences and Reentry in Alaska: An Update

This article describes recent efforts at the national level to ameliorate the public costs of unnecessary collateral consequences, summarizes the array of statutory and regulatory impediments faced by released offenders in Alaska, and highlights legislative efforts in Alaska to improve community safety and public health by facilitating prisoner reintegration and reducing rates of recidivism.Introduction / Collateral Consequences in the U.S.: 2013–2014 / Collateral Consequences in Alaska: 2013–2014 / The Reform Movement / Conclusion / SIDEBARS / Alaska Resources on Reentry / The Second Chance Act in Alask

Expungement and Limiting Public Access to Alaska Criminal Case Records in the Digital Age

A criminal record results in a number of different barriers to reentry into the community for former offenders. These barriers — also called collateral consequences — can be mitigated by reducing the extent to which criminal records are visible to employers, landlords, and others. This article provides an overview of the complexity involved in limiting public access to criminal records, processes adopted in other states, and recent legislative proposals and current options in Alaska.[Introduction] / Background / Criminal Records in the Digital Age: National Overview / Expungement and Criminal Records in Alaska / Going Forward // SIDEBARS / The Model Penal Code / Federal REDEEM Act of 2015 / Recent Legislative Proposals on Criminal Records in Alaska / Data on CourtView / Alaska Court Rules of Administration—Case Information / Expungement Resource

Alaska Justice Forum ; Vol. 30, No. 3-4 (Fall 2013 / Winter 2014)

The Fall 2013/Winter 2014 issue of the Alaska Justice Forum presents articles on offender reentry and the collateral consequences of criminal conviction, the relationship between unemployment and domestic violence, and prison visitation policies. The issue also includes faculty and staff news, and a memorial to retired Justice Center faculty member Dr. Nancy E. Schafer, who died in September 2013."Collateral Consequences and Reentry in Alaska: An Update" by Deborah Periman / "The Second Chance Act in Alaska" by Deborah Periman / "Prison Visitation Policies in the U.S. And Alaska" / "Questions from Prison Visitation Policies: A Fifty State Survey" / "Alaska Prisoner Reentry Task Force Update" / "In Memoriam" [Nancy E. Schafer] / "Employment Barriers and Domestic Violence" by Deborah Periman / "New Staff" / "Recent Faculty Publications

Alaska Justice Forum ; Vol. 27, No. 4 (Winter 2011)

The Winter 2011 issue of the Alaska Justice Forum features articles on the Uniform Collateral Consequences of Conviction Act designed to facilitate offender reentry throughout the United States; the Fairbanks gang assessment — the first structured study of gang activity in Alaska; and a summary of a Bureau of Justice Statistics report on law enforcementn agencies with special gang crime units."Prisoner Reentry and the Uniform Collateral Consequences of Conviction Act" by Deborah Periman / "Further Reading: Prisoner Reentry & Collateral Consequences" / "Gangs: National Data and the Fairbanks Gang Assessment" by Khristy Parker and Shea Daniels / "Legal Definitions of Gang and Gang Crime" / "Gang Units in Local Law Enforcement Agencies" / "Further Reading: Gangs

Alaska Justice Forum ; Vol. 27, No. 3 (Fall 2010) 

The Fall 2010 issue of the Alaska Justice Forum features articles on school resource officers (SROs); methamphetamine prevention efforts; and a recent 9th Circuit ruling on felon disenfranchisement."Police in Schools: Public Perceptions" by Brad A. Myrstol / "Measuring and Fighting Meth Use in Alaska and the U.S." by Marny Rivera and Jenny Baker / "9th Circuit Update: En Banc Order Vacates Felon Disenfranchisement Opinion" by Deborah Perima