The UAA Justice Center, established by the Alaska Legislature in 1975, has a mandate
to provide statewide justice-related education, research, and service. The Justice
Center is an interdisciplinary unit that provides undergraduate and professional education;
conducts research in the areas of crime, law, and justice; and provides services to
government units, justice agencies, and community organizations throughout urban and
rural Alaska to promote a safe, healthy, and just society.
The Justice Center is an academic and research unit within theCollege of Health at the University of Alaska Anchorage. We offeracademic programs in Justice and in Legal Studies. The Legal Studies degree and certificate programs are approved by the American Bar
Association Standing Committee on Paralegals. Our faculty conductresearchin a number of areas including violence and violent crime, law and the courts, substance
abuse, rural justice issues, homelessness, policing, and juvenile justice.
Academic Programs
Leading statewide efforts in criminal justice and criminology education, research
and service, the UAA Justice Center is a top choice among criminal justice schools
in Alaska and the U.S.
The Legal Studies BA program trains you in American law, legal processes and policy.
You’ll expand your legal knowledge and develop technical job skills in legal research,
analysis and writing.
UAA's Alaska Justice Information Center presented data from 1979 thru 2021 to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Troy C. Payne, Director of AJIC wrote "After a large increase in the mid-2010’s, motor vehicle theft has been trending down since 2018. In both trend and magnitude, Alaska is similar to the national average for property offenses. Alaska has consistently had higher-than-average rates of violence since 1993."
Mateo Jaime, a Legal Studies student, arrived at the court hearing that would, finally, end his years in custody of the Alaska Office of Children’s Services in a buoyant mood. At age 21, young adults “age out” of foster care in Alaska if they have not been adopted or reunified with parents. A judge approves it in a hearing that amounts to a grim bureaucratic formality: A child has passed into adulthood without the foster care system laying a path to permanent legal family for them, and now they are on their own.
The House on Wednesday voted to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act as part of its proposed $1.5 trillion spending package that includes $73.4 million for urban Indian health and $6.6 billion for Indian Health Services. Sen. Lisa Murkowski mentioned the Alaska Victimization Survey.
Statistics kept by the Alaska Justice Information Center was featured in an Anchorage Daily News article about how the Alaska Court System faces significant trial backlog as courtrooms reopen.
In the summer of 2021, the Oxygen channel visited Alaska to film a true crime series on homicide and violence against women in Alaska. The film crew interviewed Dr. Ingrid Johnson, Justice Center assistant professor, to give background information on crime and other relevant cultural dynamics.
The Alaska Justice Information Center (AJiC) compiles, analyzes, and reports on criminal justice topics in order to improve public
safety, to increase criminal justice system accountability, and to reduce recidivism.
The Alaska Victimization Survey (AVS) provides comprehensive statewide and regional
data to guide planning and policy development and to evaluate the impact of prevention
and intervention services.
The Alaska Justice Forum is a research journal focusing on justice and legal issues in Alaska. It was published
by the Justice Center at the University of Alaska Anchorage.
