Alaska Justice Forum 34(3), Winter 2018

Alaska Justice Forum 34(4), Spring 2018. A publication of the Justice Center, University of Alaska Anchorage

 

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High referral rate for VPSO-assisted sex assault cases

Brad A. Myrstol

Village Public Safety Officers (VPSOs). Photo courtesy Alaska State Troopers.

The likelihood that a sexual assault or sexual assault of a minor case will be accepted for prosecution in western Alaska is enhanced when VPSOs are first responders, according to new study.

Alaska Victimization Survey: Aleutian/Pribilof Islands

Alaska Victimization Survey: Aleutian/Pribilof Islands. Out of every 100 adult women who reside in the Aleutian/Pribilof Island region: 43 experienced intimate partner violence (IPV); 24 experienced sexual violence; 45 experienced intimate partner violence, sexual violence, or both. These lifetime estimates come from a 2014–2015 survey of adult women in the Aleutian/Pribilof Island region. Source: UAA Justice Center, Alaska Victimization Survey, www.uaa.alaska.edu/justice/avs.

Results of the 2014–2015 Alaska Victimization Survey for the Aleutian/Pribilof Islands show 45% of adult women in the region have experienced intimate partner violence, sexual violence or both in their lifetime.

Sexual Assault Kit Initiative: Alaska making progress

Pamela Cravez

State of Alaska Sexual Assault Evidence Kit

Victim-centered policies being developed by the Alaska Department of Public Safety for processing unsubmitted and untested sexual assault kits collected by Alaska State Troopers are one part of the state’s efforts to tackle more than 3,000 untested kits.

Sequential Intercept Model: Framework for a ‘wicked problem

Pamela Cravez

Linear depiction of the Sequential Intercept Model. This figure is a linear depiction of the Sequential Intercept Model, including Intercepts 0 through 5. The model begins and ends in the community. Intercept 0 is Community Services, which includes early intervention points for people with mental health and susbtance use disorders prior to any arrest. These include crisis lines and components of the crisis care continuum such as emergency medical services, fire departments, and law enforcement. Intercept 1 is Law Enforcement, including 911 and local law enforcement. Arrest leads to Intercept 2, which includes initial detention and initial court hearings. These in turn lead to Intercept 3, the jails and courts, including specialty courts and dispositional courts. Intercept 4 is reentry to the community from jail or prison. Intercept 5 is community corrections, including parole and probation. Violations of parole or probabtion conditions can lead to a return to prison or jail. This figure is from the article "Revising the Paradigm for Jail Diversion for People with Mental and Substance Use Disorders: Intercept 0" by Dan Abreu, W. Parker Travis, D. Noether Chanson, J. Steadman Henry, and Brian Case, Behavioral Sciences & the Law 35(5–6): 380–395, and is used by permission.

This model offers conceptual points at which a person with serious mental illness could be diverted from the criminal justice system and into community-based treatment. A recent book looks at the success of programs along the intercept continuum.

Brad A. Myrstol, Justice Center DirectorMyrstol is new Justice Center director

Dr. Brad Myrstol, new Justice Center director, brings breadth of experience in Alaska justice issues and more than 14 years with the Justice Center to new position.

Alaska State Troopers B Detachment is understaffed (infographic thumbnail))Alaska State Troopers B Detachment Patrol Staffing Study

Troy C. Payne

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. See also the Department of Public Safety press release providing additional details from the study and an infographic based on the study.

Alaska Justice Forum 34(4), Spring 2018 (thumbnail)Spring 2018 print edition

The PDF of the print edition of the Alaska Justice Forum includes full references.

 

PDF of Spring 2018 print edition