Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Justice Center Research Overview: Two new issues on Anchorage arrestees & homelessness

Two new issues of the Justice Center Research Overview look at homelessness among adult male arrestees in Anchorage:
Both Overviews, by Justice Center faculty member Brad A. Myrstol, are based upon data collected in Anchorage from 2000 to 2003 as part of the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) program. Anchorage was one of 40 sites which participated in the nationwide ADAM program. Justice Center researchers collected data on the prevalence and types of drug use among booked arrestees during four two-week periods each year, once per quarter, at Cook Inlet Pretrial Facility and Anchorage's Sixth Avenue Jail (through 2001) and at the Anchorage Correctional Complex (2002-2003).

Although the program was discontinued in 2003, its data continues to be valuable for understanding alcohol and drug use among Anchorage arrestees. ADAM data was also the basis for a recent Alaska Justice Forum article by Brad Myrstol, "Drug Use Trajectories of Anchorage Male Arrestees: 2000–2003" (Summer 2009).

For further information, see our bibliographies on homelessness and on drugs & drug abuse.