Justice Center

Redesigned Alaska Justice Forum features print and expanded web editions. Abuse faced by older Alaskan women; consequences of Alaska’s lack of psychiatric beds; and new Alaska Justice Forum editor note are featured in the Summer 2017 print edition. The web edition includes expanded and updated print articles plus community solutions to liquor store problem and Justice Center director farewell. Sign up for web edition.

Elder abuse estimates from the Alaska Victimization Survey show that more than 1 in 9 Alaska women aged 60 or older experienced psychological or physical abuse in past year. The results of the survey  are presented in the video below by Dr. André Rosay, Justice Center director, and L. Diane Casto, executive director of the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (CDVSA), which funds the survey.

Watch the video:

The Alaska rate for psychological or physical abuse is 1.7 times as high as the national rate. The Alaska rate for physical abuse is 2.4 times the national rate and the Alaska rate for psychological abuse is 1.6 times the national rate. Overall, more than 7,000 women in Alaska aged 60 or older experienced psychological or physical abuse in the past year.

Casto calls the number of women experiencing abuse unacceptable. The CDVSA will use data from Justice Center research to inform future work on elder abuse. Women who are experiencing abuse are urged to contact CDVSA, (907) 465-4356, for resources and information.

A detailed article on Dr. Rosay’s findings will be in the summer 2017 edition of the Alaska Justice Forum.

The most recent issue of the AJSAC Fact Sheet, "Violent Crime Reported in Alaska, 1986–2015," presents data on violent crimes reported in Alaska from 1986 to 2015 as reported in the Alaska Department of Public Safety publication Crime in Alaska. "Violent crime" is an aggregate category that includes homicide (murder and non-negligent manslaughter), rape, robbery, and aggravated assault offenses reported to police. From 1986 to 2015, violent crime rates increased in Alaska although the overall crime rate decreased. Homicide and robbery rates declined over the 30-year period, while rape and aggravated assault rates increased from 1986 to 2015 – with aggravated assault acting as the main driver of increases in the violent crime rate over the period. On average, violent crime accounted for 11 percent of all crime reported in Alaska from 1986 to 2015. Aggravated assault accounted for nearly three-quarters, robbery for nearly 15 percent, rape for nearly 13 percent, and homicide for just over one percent of all violent crime reported in Alaska over the period.

 The fact sheet is by Khristy Parker, Research Professional, Alaska Justice Statistical Analysis Center (AJSAC).

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This issue of the AJSAC Fact Sheet, "Property Crime Reported in Alaska, 1986–2015," presents data on property crime in Alaska from 1986 to 2015 as reported in the Alaska Department of Public Safety publication Crime in Alaska. "Property crime" is an aggregate category that includes burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft crimes. From 1986 to 2015 the property crime rate in Alaska decreased as the overall crime rate decreased. On average, property crime accounted for two-thirds of all crime in Alaska over the thirty-year period.

The fact sheet is by Khristy Parker, Research Professional, Alaska Justice Statistical Analysis Center (AJSAC).

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