Dr. Troy Payne new Justice program coordinator

Dr. Troy C. Payne

As Undergraduate Program Coordinator for 2017-2018, Dr. Troy C. Payne, Associate Professor of Justice, is leading curriculum development and student academic advising for the Bachelor of Arts in Justice and Minor in Justice programs.  He encourages students to keep in touch and provide feedback via email or Google Hangouts at tpayne9@alaska.edu.  Dr. Payne remains a faculty adviser to the UAA Society of Law & Justice, our student organization, and is teaching a variety of courses including Justice Data Analysis, Terrorism, and Crime Analysis and Mapping.

Justice faculty at Campus Kickoff

Dr. Brad Myrstol, Dr. Troy Payne, Prof. Deborah Periman, Dr. Ryan Fortson, and Prof. Kristin Knudsen welcomed students and answered questions about Justice programs at the 2017 Campus Kickoff.

To learn more about the programs, degrees and research at UAA's Justice Center see the UAA Justice Center website. Follow us on Facebook and at the Justice Center blog.

Blumenstein recognized with 2017 Chancellor's Award for Excellence

Dr. Lindsey Blumenstein

Dr. Lindsey Blumenstein is a recipient of a 2017 Chancellor's Award for Excellence. Join us in Congratulating Dr. Blumenstein on this outstanding achievement.

Dr. Blumenstein's award was in the category of Excellence in Academic Research / Creative Activity, in recognition of the significant and positive impact to UAA and Alaska of her research on intimate partner and sexual violence. To learn more about her research, see her faculty profile page.

Myrstol endorses thoughtful approach when testing sexual assault kits

Interim Justice Center Director
Dr. Brad Myrstol

Dr. Brad Myrstol, Interim Justice Center Director, urged patience regarding the use of $1.1 million that the state received for testing DNA evidence from sexual assaults from around the state. “It requires patience, and on a topic, frankly, that people may not have much patience,” Myrstol said in an interview reported in a recent Juneau Empire story.

Myrstol, a member of the statewide Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) working Group, endorsed the thoughtful and deliberative approach the group is taking both to determine factors that have led to a backlog in testing and how best to protect victims from being re-traumatized when kits are tested.

Hospitals apply for more psychiatric beds, Alaska Justice Forum article supports need

Information from "Alaska's Lack of Psychiatric Beds and Consequences," Alaska Justice Forum, Summer 2017, was used in a recent Certificate of Need (CON) hearing to support a request for additional psychiatric beds.

In May 1968, at the time of this photo, API had 225 beds. It has 80 now.
Christine M. McClain papers, Archives and Special Collections,
 Consortium Library,UAA. Jim Balog, photographer

Alaska Regional Hospital and Mat-Su Regional Medical Center both presented cases and supported each other's requests for expanding behavioral health units to the CON board on August 16 in Anchorage. Mat-Su Regional is applying for 36 beds for behavioral health and substance use disorder patients. Alaska Regional Hospital is seeking 24 psychiatric beds, 12 of which would be secure.

"We are desperately in need of more resources," Alaska Regional CEO Julie Taylor told the CON board.  She presented historical information, taken from the Justice Forum article, that API used to have over 200 beds when it began operating in the 1960's. It now has 80 -  with only 50 reserved for adults. The rest are for adolescents, forensic cases and people with dementia and other disabilities who have no other options for placement.

Taylor also presented a chart that appeared in the Forum showing how the de-institutionalization movement of the 1960's and 70's shifted the population of adults with mental illness from medical institutions to jail.

The lack of beds is particularly worrisome as the state takes moves to reduce the number of people with mental illness who are in jail, Taylor said. "We need to be ready with the resources," she said.

Mat-Su Regional will serve both behavioral health and substance use disorder patients. Alaska Regional plans to focus on behavioral health.

Both requests received strong support from service providers, consumers of mental health and substance abuse disorder services, and family members.

A second CON hearing will be held at Mat-Su College on August 31 at 4:30 p.m.

Fortson, Knudsen and Payne receive tenure recognition

Dr. Troy Payne

Prof. Ryan Fortson

Prof. Kristin Knudsen

Justice Center faculty Ryan Fortson, Kristin Knudsen and Troy Payne received recognition for receiving tenure from Interim UAA Provost Duane Hrncir at the College of Health All-College meeting on Thursday, August 17. The three Justice faculty, who were all promoted to Associate Professor, were the most faculty from one department in the College of Health to be awarded tenure this year. Prof. Fortson and Prof. Knudsen teach in the Justice Center's Legal Studies program. Prof. Knudsen is Legal Studies Coordinator. Dr. Payne, teaches Justice courses and is the Undergraduate Justice Coordinator. All three were granted tenure in May 2017 by then Provost, now Interim Chancellor, Sam Gingerich.

AJiC's Results First research in the news

Alaska Dispatch columnist Charles Wohlforth cited research produced by the Alaska Justice Information Center (AJiC) in a recent article about the cost-effectiveness of Alaska Department of Correction's (DOC) sex offender treatment program. Information regarding the state's monetary investment in the DOC program and its return on investment in terms of reducing recidivism comes from work that AJiC is doing as part of  Alaska's partnership with the Pew-MacArthur Results First Initiative.  Results First uses innovative research tools to analyze the benefit to cost ratio of evidence-based programs in Alaska's criminal justice system intended to reduce recidivism.

Dr. Sharon Chamard attends International ECCA Symposium

Escuela Superior de Economia y Negocios in San Salvador
hosted 26th International Symposium on Environmental
 Criminology and Crime Analysis.

Dr. Sharon Chamard, Justice faculty, attended the 26th International Symposium on Environmental Criminology and Crime Analysis (ECCA) in ESEN (Escuela Superior de Economía y Negocios) in San Salvador, El Salvador in June. Dr. Chamard, who teaches environmental criminology, is one of about 50 people from around the world who met to discuss the latest research in environmental criminology and the spatial and temporal analysis of crime.

Legal Studies faculty serve on Alaska Bar committees

Professors Jason Brandeis, Ryan Fortson, and Deb Periman, Legal Studies faculty, have been reappointed to serve on the Alaska Bar Association's Law Related Education (LRE) Committee. The committee is responsible for presenting programs and producing publications to promote public understanding of the law and legal system. Professors Fortson and Periman are actively involved in LRE's Youth Law Guide subcommittee. Prof. Brandeis has also been reappointed to the Alaska Bar Rag Committee. Brandeis is a frequent contributor to the Bar Rag, a quarterly newspaper edited and written by attorneys, for attorneys in Alaska.