Prof. Periman in CAFÉ faculty poster showcase

Prof. Deb Periman, Justice faculty, is one of 16 UAA/APU faculty sharing the results of scholarly inquiry into their teaching practices through a CAFÉ "Making Learning Visible" Faculty Poster Showcase on Friday, April 2 from 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. in the Consortium Library Atrium, 3rd floor.

These faculty were selected for the UAA/APU Ford Foundation Difficult Dialogues program which introduced them to traditional Alaska Native ways of teaching and learning and to key difficult dialogues between Native communities and western universities. The experiences, outcomes, and reflections of each faculty member will be displayed in the posters in this exhibit.

Dr. Rosay awarded grant for statewide victimization survey

Dr. André Rosay, Justice Center Director, received a competitive grant from the Alaska Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (CDVSA) to conduct a survey that will generate accurate and reliable statewide estimates for the lifetime and 12-month incidence and the prevalence of intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and stalking. Project investigators include Dr. Marny Rivera and Dr. Brad Myrstol, Justice Center faculty. Dr. Rosay joined UAA in 2002. With this most recent award, Dr. Rosay's total external competitive research funding to UAA now exceeds one million dollars.

Dr. Myrstol awarded grant for Arkansas community survey

Dr. Brad Myrstol, Justice faculty, has been awarded a $74,000 grant to conduct a Northwest Arkansas Community Indicators Survey. The project will collect data about social capital and community connectedness in two Northwest Arkansas counties, and is part of an ongoing collaboration with Dr. Kevin Fitzpatrick, Director of the University of Arkansas Community and Family Institute. The survey will also be translated into Spanish and sent to Spanish-speaking residents of the two counties. Dr. Myrstol and four undergraduate students will conduct the study.

Social capital refers to the level of collaboration and cooperation in a community, as seen in shared trust, values, and understanding.

Dr. Rivera invited to join Alaska substance use prevention workgroup

Dr. Marny Rivera, Justice Center faculty, has been invited to join the State of Alaska DHSS, Division of Behavioral Health Epidemiology Workgroup for the Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant (SPF SIG). This workgroup will be responsible for refining, enhancing, and maintaining the current "Epidemiological Profile of Substance Abuse in Alaska." Their focus will include collecting and analyzing data, developing a prioritization process for selection of data-driven prevention priorities, and working with other state agencies.

This program is part of the federal SAMHSA Center for Substance Abuse and Prevention which has awarded Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grants to:

• prevent the onset and reduce the progression of substance use, including childhood and underage drinking;
• reduce substance abuse-related problems in communities; and
  
• build prevention capacity and infrastructure at the state and community levels.

Dr. Chamard heads data upate for 2009 United Way CAP Report

A team from the Justice Center, headed by faculty member Dr. Sharon Chamard, and including Research Assistant Khristy Parker and Research Associate Barbara Armstrong, updated secondary data for the 2009 Community Assessment Project (CAP) Report released in March 2010 by United Way of Anchorage. The report contains findings and figures of primary and secondary data about Anchorage economics, education, health, natural environment, public safety, and social environment issues.

This is the first full follow-up report to the initial 2006 CAP Report. An interim report was issued in 2008; Dr. Chamard also headed up the update of the secondary data for that report.

Prof. Periman is faculty respondent for UAA debate team

Prof. Deb Periman, Justice Center faculty, was a faculty respondent for the March 18, 2010 UAA Speech and Debate Team event sponsored by the UAA Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence (CAFE). The debate topic was,"The State of Alaska should not be involved in the institution of marriage."

The debate team members were James Kilcup, Akis Gialopsos, Drew Cason, and Colin Haughey.

This event is part of a series of debates sponsored by CAFE since 2003 to offer the Anchorage community the resources of UAA as a basis for discussion of policies and issues affecting their future.

Justice Club tour of Spring Creek Correctional Center on April 9

The Justice Club is sponsoring a tour on Friday, April 9th of the Spring Creek Correctional Center located in Seward.

You must be a current Justice Club member and have paid the club dues for either the semester or the year to participate in the tour. You must also fill out a background check form and submit it to the Justice Center by April 1st. Late forms will not be accepted! This form is available in the Justice Center, located in the Consortium Library, Suite 213.

Students who are approved to participate in this tour will be required to meet in the Consortium Library parking lot at 8:00am on April 9th. Students will then travel by bus (or personal vehicle if preferred) to Seward, where students will spend a couple of hours on the tour with a planned return time to Anchorage at 6:00pm.

For more information about the Justice Club, see the Justice Club home page.

Justice Club tour of Anchorage FBI on March 19

The Justice Club is sponsoring a tour on Friday, March 19th of the FBI Building. The tour will begin at 1:00pm.

Please send an email by March 18th to abjustice@uaa.alaska.edu if you would like to attend. You must be a current Justice Club member and have paid the club dues for either the semester or the year to participate in this tour.

Students are required to bring a valid I.D. (driver's license, state I.D. or passport) to participate in the tour.

For more information about the Justice Club, see the Justice Club home page.

Justice Center research cited on Governor Parnell's "Choose Respect" web page

Justice Center research on sexual assault in Alaska is cited on Governor Parnell's web page, "Choose Respect: Alaskans Ending the Epidemic of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault."

The cite refers to a Justice Center study which found that sexual assault cases with adult victims that were originally reported to police paraprofessionals (e.g., VPSOs) were 3.5 times more likely to be prosecuted than sexual assault cases originally reported directly to Alaska State Troopers.

Dr. Rivera speaks to Anchorage DV, Sexual Assault, and Child Abuse Caucus

Dr. Marny Rivera, Justice faculty, spoke to the Anchorage Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Child Abuse Caucus on Tuesday, March 9, 2010. Her presentation focused on "Assaults in Domestic Violence: Descriptive Statistics and Predictors of Legal Resolutions." Additional Justice Center research on domestic violence is on the Justice Center website.

The caucus is a local organization and meets monthly at the offices of Abused Women's Aid in Crisis (AWAIC).

Justice major presents at Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences annual meeting

Justin Voss, Anchorage Police officer and Justice major, presented on "Patrol Officer Activity Tracking: Accuracy, Productivity, Morale" on February 26, 2010 at the annual meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences in San Diego. Officer Voss's presentation was part of a section on "Police Organizational Management." This undergraduate research project was supervised by Dr. Marny Rivera, Justice Center faculty.

Officer Voss developed a patrol activity tracking system for use by the Anchorage Police Department. He discussed how this tracking system could capture not only calls for service, but also the amount of time and effort a patrol officer spent on each case.

Justice Center research cited by DPS Commissioner Masters

Alaska Department of Public Safety Commissioner Joe Masters cited Justice Center research that determined that the presence of a Village Public Safety Officer (VPSO) in a community reduced the rates of serious injuries caused by assaults by 40 per cent, and that sexual assault cases originally reported to a VPSO were 3.5 times more likely to be accepted for prosecution by the Department of Law. The citation to this research appeared in an opinion piece in the Juneau Empire on March 10, 2010.

Dr. Rosay attends National Victim Assistance Academy

Dr. André Rosay, Justice Center Director, attended the National Victim Assistance Academy (NVAA) sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) held February 28 - March 5, 2010 in Portland. The NVAA provides important updates on victims' rights and victim services, as well as new developments in the victim assistance field.

The NVAA includes delegates from every area of the criminal justice system; specialists in sexual assault, domestic violence, and child victimization; as well as those who serve elderly victims, survivors of homicide victims, and victims of juvenile offenders. Participants were selected through a competitive application process.

Prof. Periman participates in "I Know I Can" outreach program to elementary students

Prof. Deborah Periman, Justice Center faculty, participated in the University of Alaska and Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education outreach event to 2nd and 3rd grade school children called the "I Know I Can" program. Volunteers visit classrooms with a book titled, "I Know I Can," read it to students, and discuss their own college and work experiences.

The book tells the story of a group of animals trying to determine what they want to be when they grow up and how college fits into those plans. This event is part of communicating the message that "College is possible."

Prof. Periman participated in the program as part of the Alaska Bar Association Law Related Education Committee community outreach.

Dr. Rivera moderates panel at American Criminal Justice Society annual meeting

Dr. Marny Rivera, Justice Center faculty, was a contributor to and moderator for a roundtable at the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS) annual meeting on Friday, February 26, 2010 in San Diego. The roundtable focused on "A Cross-Cultural Examination of Family Inter-Personal Violence (IPV)."

Justice Club tour of Airport Police & Fire Department / TSA on April 16

The Justice Club is sponsoring a tour on Friday, April 16th of the Airport Police & Fire Department as well as a tour of the airport baggage check process with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The Airport Police & Fire Department will show their K-9 unit, the fire trucks and water trucks, the hovercrafts, the dispatch center, ice rescue, and the police vehicles. TSA will show their security checkpoints and a behind the scenes look at where the baggage goes once it is checked-in.

The tour will begin at 10:00am and will finish around 1:00pm. Students will need to plan on meeting in the SSB parking lot at 9:15am to arrange transportation to the airport (car-pooling is necessary due to the lack of parking at the airport).

Please send an email by April 12th to abjustice@uaa.alaska.edu if you would like to attend. You must be a current Justice Club member and have paid the club dues for either the semester or the year to participate in this tour.

For more information about the Justice Club, see the Justice Club home page.

Drs. Rivera and Rosay present at Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences annual meeting

Dr. Marny Rivera, Justice Center faculty, and Dr. Andre Rosay, Justice Center Director, made a presentation on "The Cultural and Geographic Differences in Domestic Violence Injuries: Implications for Prevention and Intervention" at the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS) annual meeting on Thursday, February 25, 2010, in San Diego.

This project examined report, suspect, and victim characteristics and injury data for 1,281 reports of assaults in domestic violence incidents reported to Alaska State Troopers in 2004. The authors examined 1) how documented injuries affected referral and acceptance for prosecution and conviction, and 2) cultural differences (White versus Alaska Native) and geographic differences (by the isolation of the victims’ communities). They concluded by discussing implications of these factors for prevention and intervention.

Gender equity panel speaks to paralegal studies students

Justice Dana Fabe of the Alaska Supreme Court, attorney Jason Brandeis of the Alaska Public Offices Commission, attorney Marla Greenstein of the Alaska Commission on Judicial Conduct, and paralegal B.J. Baker of the Fort Richardson U.S. Army Judge Advocate General Corps (JAG) Environmental Section/Civil Law Division (panel pictured above left to right) spoke Tuesday, February 23, 2010 to about 40 UAA Justice Center students.

The panel discussed bias, gender issues associated with legal ethics and courtroom behaviors, legal standards applicable to discrimination claims, and the role of gender in various justice system professions. Professor Deborah Periman, Justice Center faculty, was the campus facilitator.