Justice Center gang research now on National Criminal Justice Reference Service database

The Justice Center report, "Fairbanks Gang Assessment," prepared for the Alaska Division of Juvenile Justice and the Fairbanks Gang Reduction and Intervention Network (GRAIN), has recently been added to the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) database.

Co-authors of the "Fairbanks Gang Assessment" report are Khristy Parker and Jennifer McMullen, Justice Center Research Professionals; Dr. André Rosay, Justice Center; and Shea Daniels, Alaska Division of Juvenile Justice.

NCJRS is a federally funded resource offering justice and substance abuse information to support research, policy, and program development worldwide.

Co-author Shea Daniels, Alaska Division of Juvenile Justice, has been invited to present on how to complete a community gang assessment at the "2011 National Gang Symposium" in June. Ms. Daniels will be presenting with Michelle Arciaga, Senior Research Associate, from the National Gang Center.

Tacoma, Washington is currently considering a gang assessment project. The Justice Center "Fairbanks Gang Assessment" report was reviewed by the Tacoma City Council Public Safety, Human Services, and Education Committee during the discussion about their proposed 2011 Gang Assessment.

Justice Center issues Fairbanks Gang Assessment Report

The Justice Center has released the "Fairbanks Gang Assessment" report which includes a review of community demographic, law enforcement, student and school, and community perceptions data. Data for this report were collected in 2010. The report was prepared with the Alaska Division of Juvenile Justice and the Fairbanks Gang Reduction and Intervention Network (GRAIN). Khristy Parker, Research Assistant; Jennifer McMullen, Research Assistant; Dr. André Rosay, Justice Center Director; and Shea Daniels, Alaska Division of Juvenile Justice are the report authors.

Methamphetamines focus of research report and Research Overview

Alaska Meth Education Project: Process and Outcome Evaluation, 2009 by Dr. Marny Rivera and Jennifer McMullen is the first report to provide information regarding Alaskans’ perceptions of meth, including effects and risks associated with meth use and perceptions regarding the availability and use of meth by young adults in Alaska. The report evaluated the efforts of the Alaska Meth Education (AME) Project, a statewide effort to reduce meth use and availability in Alaska by educating Alaskans about, and preventing youth from trying, meth. The AME Project provides free community education presentations, an anti-meth media campaign. anti-meth summits, and a website and Facebook page which provide information, local resources, and links to their campaign ads. The AME Project has resulted from the efforts of five local government: the Municipality of Anchorage, Matanuska Susitna Borough, Kenai Peninsula Borough, Fairbanks North Star Borough, and the City and Borough of Juneau.

Evaluation methods included a survey to evaluate community education presentations; a survey conducted with UAA Justice students exposed to the anti-meth radio advertisements generated by the AME Project; a survey of 10,000 randomly sampled Alaskans; and a process evaluation involving interviews conducted with AME Project statewide advisory committee members.

Meth is also the focus of a new issue of the Justice Center Research Overview, also written by Marny Rivera and Jennifer McMullen — "Methamphetamine (Meth) Use, Trafficking, and Treatment" — which presents a summary of the meth problem in the U.S. and Alaska using the most recent available data on use, trafficking, and treatment related to methamphetamines.

Justice Center faculty to present at American Society of Criminology in November

Several Justice Center faculty will be making presentations at the American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting in Philadelpha, November 4-7, 2009:

Dr. Sharon Chamard will present on "Chronic Public Inebriate Movement Patterns: Response to Disruptions in Preferred Environments" on Thursday, November 5, 2009.

Dr. Brad Myrstol will present on "The Drug Use Trajectories of Arrestees" on Friday, November 6, 2009.

Dr. Marny Rivera and Jennifer McMullen, Research Assistant, will make a presentation on "Effects of an Anti-Methamphetamine Program" on Saturday, November 7, 2009. Dr. Rivera is the principal investigator for the evaluation project of the Alaska Meth Education Project.