Justice Center

The 2018 spring edition of the Alaska Justice Forum includes articles dealing with Alaska’s high incidence of sexual violence including how VPSO-assistance in sex assault cases in western Alaska have high referral rates for prosecution.  An overview of results from the 2014–2015 Alaska Victimization Survey for the Aleutian/Pribilof Islands shows that 45% of adult women in the region have experienced intimate partner violence, sexual violence or both in their lifetime. In addition, an article on Alaska’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative provides an update on progress addressing unsubmitted and untested sexual assault kits collected by Alaska State Troopers and development of victim-centered policies by a group of statewide stakeholders.

The Justice Center recently developed a report for the Alaska Department of Public Safety showing that troopers in the Mat-Su Borough and part of the Valdez Cordova census area are chronically over-used, causing operational problems. The report is included in the spring Forum along with a book review that describes the Sequential Intercept Model. The model provides a framework for diverting a person with serious mental illness from the criminal justice system into community-based treatment.

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The UAA Justice Center produced a workload-based staffing model for police patrol in the Alaska State Troopers B Detachment, studying a period for 2009–2015. Alaska State Troopers provide service in unincorporated areas of the state. B Detachment’s service area is a large part of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough and portions of the Valdez-Cordova Census Area along the Richardson Highway, an area of about 20,000 square miles containing 2,250 miles of roadways. According to the study, Troopers in B Detachment are chronically over-utilized, which causes operational problems. The Department of Public Safety released a press release providing additional details from the study as well as a link to the study and infographic based on the study.

Reference

Alaska State Troopers B Detachment Patrol Staffing Study and Description of Dispatched Police Incidents (revised ed.)  by Troy C. Payne. Report prepared for the Alaska Department of Public Safety. Anchorage, AK: Justice Center, University of Alaska Anchorage, 22 Feb 2018.

New Anchorage Police Citizen Academy Alumni Association Scholarship for students enrolled at UAA in Bachelor of Arts in Justice or Legal Studies or Associate of Applied Science in Paralegal Studies. $1,000 per academic year (minimum). Students must be residents of Alaska and have a 2.0 GPA. The deadline for applying is February 15, 2018. Go to https://www.uaa.alaska.edu/students/financial-aid/scholarships/

Anchorage Police Citizen Academy Alumni Association (APCAAA) is a non-profit voluntary organization of interested Academy graduates who join to promote and improve community relations, provide continuing education, increase community involvement, and assist and support the Anchorage Police Department.

The most recent issue of the AJiC Fact Sheet, "Value of Stolen Property Reported in Alaska, 1985–2016," 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.

The fact sheet is by Random Reamey, Research Professional, Alaska Justice Information Center (AJiC). The AJiC Fact Sheet series addresses various crime and criminal justice topics.

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