Join us Tuesday for "A Discussion of Community Policing in Anchorage" and movie on Friday

"A Discussion of Community Policing in Anchorage" — kicks off  Justice Club-sponsored events for National Criminal Justice Month 2017.

• Date: Tuesday, March 21
• Time: 7:00–8:30 p.m.
• Location: UAA/APU Consortium Library, LIB 307
• Admission: Free

The Anchorage Police Department has recently increased community policing efforts, including adding foot patrols in some areas around Anchorage. Come hear the Anchorage Police Department and community leaders discuss current efforts at reducing crime, reducing fear of crime, and improving police-community relations.

Scheduled to appear:

• Capt. Sean Case, Anchorage Police Department
• Jamie Boring, Executive Director, Anchorage Downtown Partnership, Ltd.
• Wanda Green, Immediate Past President, Alaska NAACP

Also, this week:
The movie, "End of Watch," will be shown Friday, March 24, in SSB 118 at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free.

National Criminal Justice Month events are sponsored by the Justice Center and the UAA Justice Club.

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In 2009 the United States Congress established March as National Criminal Justice Month. The purpose of National Criminal Justice Month is to promote societal awareness regarding the causes and consequences of crime, as well as strategies for preventing and responding to crime.

Dr. Payne publishes article in Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law & Society on examining street segments over time for crime patterns

Dr. Troy Payne, Justice faculty, has published an article in Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law & Society.  The article is titled "The Importance of Small Units of Aggregation: Trajectories of Crime at Addresses in Cincinnati, Ohio, 1998-2012."  

With his coauthor, Dr. Kathleen Gallagher (The Analysis Group), Dr. Payne examined the long-term trends of crime at addresses in Cincinnati, OH 1998-2012.  The authors found that crime is concentrated within a relative handful of addresses.  They also found that high-crime addresses coexist with low-crime addresses on the same block.  The implications for policy and practice are discussed.

Dr. Payne interviewed by Alaska Dispatch about Anchorage's increase in homicides

Dr. Troy Payne, Justice faculty, was interviewed by the Alaska Dispatch News for a recent article on homicides in Anchorage. The story looks at the spike in homicides this year in Anchorage.  As Dr. Payne notes in the article: "We fixate on stranger crimes, which are rare, because those are the ones we can more easily think about. It's easier for us to imagine that horrible things are done by people we don't know and don't love."

Read the full article:
"Anchorage is on track to break the record for most homicides in one year. What's going on?" by Michelle Theriault Boots. Alaska Dispatch News. 3 Sep 2016

Dr. Payne and Justice grad Daniel Reinhard co-author article in International Criminal Justice Review

Dr. Troy Payne, Justice faculty, and Daniel Reinhard, '15 BA Justice, co-authored an article, "The Complexity of Problem-Solving in Urban Parks: A Case Study," recently published in the journal, International Criminal Justice Review.

The article describes data collection and analysis of a limited evaluation of an intervention meant to reduce crime and disorder in an urban park through increasing park use. The case study uses Town Square Park, an urban park in the Municipality of Anchorage.

Daniel Reinhard is currently in the graduate program at the School of Criminology, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, B.C.

Dr. Blumenstein interviewed by KTUU Channel 2 News about crime rates in Anchorage

Dr. Lindsey Blumenstein, Justice faculty, was interviewed by KTUU Channel 2 News, about the recent FBI Uniform Crime Rates (UCR) report and a report from the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation (AEDC) about Anchorage dropping in "quality of life" rankings among other U.S. cities due to crime.

Dr. Blumenstein commented that UCR data alone give an incomplete picture. She notes that it is very difficult to compare cities using the UCR data and that the FBI website cautions against using this data alone to make comparisons of the levels of crime in a given area.

See the full story here:
"REPORT: Anchorage quality of life declines as crime rates rise" by Dan Carpenter. KTUU Channel 2 News, 27 Jan 2016.

Dr. Payne interviewed by Alaska Dispatch News about FBI crime stats for Alaska

Dr. Troy Payne, Justice faculty, was interviewed recently by the Alaska Dispatch News about FBI crime statistics for Alaska.  The article reported on changes in crime rates from 2013 to 2014. Dr. Payne noted that "long-term data is more telling," and the bigger question is what 2015 data will tell us as we look at trends in crime rates.

Read the full article here:
"FBI crime stats say murder rate up, rapes down in Alaska in 2014" by Jerzy Shedlock. Alaska Dispatch News, 08 Oct 2015.

Dr. Chamard in poster session at ECCA conference on situational crime prevention

Dr. Sharon Chamard, Justice faculty, participated in a poster session at the 2015 Environmental Crime and Criminal Analysis (ECCA) Conference in June in New Zealand.  Her poster focused on "Community Attitudes About Late Night Safety."

ECCA is an annual, invitation-only symposium attended by an international group of researchers and practitioners engaged in situational crime prevention, intelligence-led policing, and problem-oriented policing.

Dr. Chamard's poster.

Dr. Myrstol interviewed by Juneau Empire for article on the decline in drunk driving

Dr. Brad Myrstol, Director of the Alaska Justice Statistical Analysis Center (AJSAC), was interviewed by James Brooks of the Juneau Empire for an article about the decline in drunk driving in Alaska and nationwide.

Dr. Myrstol noted that the drop in drunk driving is part of the "broader crime rate decline" in Alaska.

Read the full article:
"Alaska is beating drunk driving: And here's how" by James Brooks.  Juneau Empire, 3 Jul 2015.

Dr. Blumenstein participates on panel for UAA Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Students watch "The Party's Over" as a prelude to the panel discussion about sexual assault.

Dr. Lindsey Blumenstein, Justice faculty, participated in the April 22 panel discussing the ABC 20/20 documentary "The Party's Over." The documentary, which aired in January 2015, tells the true story of a sexual assault on the campus of Vanderbilt University and the impact of the incident on the victim, the perpetrators, their families, the university, and the community.

Program panelists also included Stephanie Whaley, Title IX Investigator, UAA Dean of Students Office, and Camilla Hussein-Scott, a UAA student, a survivor of domestic violence, and former president of the UAA NO MORE Alliance. 

Discussion covered the prevalence of this type of sexual misconduct on all college campuses, whether or not the sexual misconduct described in the documentary was surprising, how common  this type of sexual misconduct is on our campus, what the characteristics are of  typical sexual misconduct on our campus, and recommendations for what students can do to help prevent sexual misconduct, including being "a good by-stander"  - if you see something, say something.

The program was held in the Den in the Student Union, and was part of a series of events, including a Resource Fair held earlier the same day.

L to r: Stephanie Whaley, Dr. Lindsey Blumenstein,
Camilla Hussein-Scott.

Justice major Daniel Reinhard presents paper at 2015 Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences

Daniel Reinhard, a senior and Justice major, presented a paper at the recent Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences annual conference in March.  His presentation, "Observations of Crime and Disorder at an Urban Park," is related to the research he has been doing with Dr. Troy Payne, Justice faculty, in collaboration with the Anchorage Police Department and the Anchorage Downtown Partnership.

Daniel Reinhard observed activities in the park over a number
of days and during different time periods.

The paper reports on criminal and delinquent behavior as observed in Town Square Park - a downtown urban park in Anchorage, Alaska. Town Square Park is source of local controversy and has attracted the attention of the local police department and the Anchorage Downtown Partnership, an organization charged with providing services to the downtown district of Anchorage. In response to these agencies having a lack of recorded data on what occurs in the park Daniel conducted observations in the park. This research notes observed park activities, hypothesizes the park's role as a crime attractor and lists physical characteristics of the park that may facilitate criminality.

Dr. Blumenstein interviewed by KTVA Channel 11 News about crime rates in Alaska

Dr. Lindsey Blumenstein, Justice faculty, was interviewed by KTVA Channel 11 News about crime rates in Alaska.  Dr. Blumenstein's research areas include intimate partner violence, campus sexual assault, substance abuse, and criminological theory.

See the interview here:
"Is Alaska the most violent state?" KTVA Channel 11 News.
5 Jan 2015

Alaska Victimization Survey research noted in USA Today article on crime in the U.S.

Research from the 2010 statewide Alaska Victimization Survey was noted in a recent USA Today article on crime in the U.S.

Read the article:
"The most dangerous states in America" by Alexander Kent and Thomas C. Frohlich. USA Today. 3 Jan 2015.

The Alaska Victimization Survey is conducted annually by the State of Alaska Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault and the University of Alaska Anchorage Justice Center. The survey provides estimates of intimate partner violence and sexual violence experienced by adult women in Alaska.

2010 statewide estimates and regional estimates for 2011, 2012, and 2013 are available on the website.  Results from the 2014 regional survey will be published shortly.

AJSAC Fact Sheets added to National Criminal Justice Reference Service online index

The Alaska Justice Statistical Analysis Center (AJSAC) Fact Sheets, "Firearm Use in Violent Crime in the U.S. and Alaska, 1980-2011," and "Violent Crime Arrests in Alaska," by Dr. Brad Myrstol, AJSAC Director, have been added to the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) online index.

Click here for all AJSAC publications.
 

 

AJSAC creates electronic archive of searchable copies of Alaska uniform crime report publications

As a community service, the Alaska Justice Statistical Analysis Center (AJSAC) has converted hard copies of Alaska's uniform crime report publications from 1976 through 1999 into searchable PDF documents. These Crime in Alaska reports are now available on the AJSAC website.  This electronic archive provides accessibility to important historical crime statistics for researchers and members of the public, fulfilling part of the mission of the AJSAC.

The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program is the starting place for law enforcement executives, students of criminal justice, researchers, members of the media, and the public at large seeking information on crime in the nation. The program was conceived in 1929 by the International Association of Chiefs of Police to meet the need for reliable uniform crime statistics for the nation. In 1930, the FBI was tasked with collecting, publishing, and archiving those statistics nationally.

Since 1982, the Alaska Department of Public Safety (DPS), Division of Statewide Services (DSS), has administered the UCR program for Alaska.The Criminal Records and Identification Bureau (CRIB), located within the DSS, collects, tabulates, reports, and publishes UCR data submitted by Alaska law enforcement agencies.

AJSAC to make archived Crime in Alaska publications available online

The Alaska Justice Statistical Analysis Center (AJSAC) is currently working to create an online repository for Alaska’s uniform crime reporting (UCR) statistics by converting hard copies of Crime in Alaska publications into searchable PDF documents.  This AJSAC project is an effort to make existing Alaska justice data more widely accessible to the public.

The archived data includes Crime in Alaska publications from 1976-1999. Copies of Crime in Alaska for 2000-present are available online at the Alaska Department of Public Safety (DPS) website : http://dps.alaska.gov/Statewide/UCR.aspx

The project is scheduled to be completed by November 1, with searchable PDFs available online at: http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/alaskajusticestatisticalanalysiscenter/ucr.cfm

Donté Powell holds some of the
hard copies of crime data for Alaska
that he is scanning for an online repository.

Khristy Parker, AJSAC Research Professional, is supervising this project. Volunteer and Justice alum, Donté Powell, BA Justice ’14, is assisting. Donté is in the process of testing to join a law enforcement agency.  He hopes to get some experience in the field and then become a crime analyst.

Dr. Payne interviewed by KTUU Ch 2 News about Town Square Park crime survey

Dr. Troy Payne, Justice Center faculty, was interviewed by KTUU Channel 2 News about the ongoing Town Square Park crime survey being conducted in partnership with the Anchorage Police Department (APD).  A Justice student researcher, Daniel Reinhard, and Dr. Payne, have been observing activity in the park over the past several weeks. APD Chief Mark Mew will be looking at the results of the study to determine the most effective way to combat crime in the park.

The Anchorage Downtown Partnership scheduled daily activities for the public in the park July 21 - 25. Dr. Payne will be evaluating the change in park use before and after those events based on  the observations of activities over the study period.  A report will be published later this year.

See the story: "Social Experiment in Downtown Park May Change Crime Patterns" by Mallory Peebles. KTUU Channel 2 News, 30 July 2014.

AJSAC releases fact sheet — Burglary in Alaska: 1985–2012

The most recent issue of the AJSAC Fact Sheet presents data for 1985–2012 on the property crime of burglary, including burglary rates, time and place of occurrence, and the value of property stolen during burglaries reported to police. Data is drawn from the annual Crime in Alaska report of the Alaska Department of Public Safety, which represents the State of Alaska's contribution to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program. The fact sheet is by Khristy Parker of the Alaska Justice Statistical Analysis Center (AJSAC).

Drs. Chamard and Payne present at international conference on crime prevention and how location impacts crime

L to r: Dr. Troy Payne and Dr. Sharon Chamard at the conference.

Dr. Sharon Chamard and Dr. Troy Payne, Justice Center faculty, presented "A Tale of Two Cities' Attempts to Lower Calls for Service via Civil Remedies"  at the Environmental Criminology and Crime Analysis (ECCA) conference in the Netherlands in June.  The research compared the count of police incidents before and after a notice of excessive police incidents at properties in Anchorage and Green Bay, Wisconsin.


ECCA is an annual, invitation-only symposium attended by an international group of researchers and practitioners engaged in situational crime prevention, crime science, intelligence-led policing, and problem-oriented policing. In 2008, the Justice Center hosted the 17th annual ECCA Symposium on the UAA campus.

Alaska Justice Statistical Analysis Center researcher interviewed by Alaska Dispatch about violent crime arrests

Khristy Parker, Alaska Justice Statistical Analysis Center (AJSAC) researcher, was recently interviewed by Laurel Andrews of the Alaska Dispatch about the AJSAC Fact Sheet, "Arrests for Violent Crimes in Alaska, 1980-2012." 

The data show that arrest rates for homicide and forcible rape declined over the time period, while arrests for robbery, and to a lesser degree, aggravated assault increased.  Data on race and sex of individuals arrested are also given.  The fact sheet notes that "[b]ecause Alaska has a small population, small changes in the number of reported arrests can lead to substantial fluctuations in arrest rates."

"Report looks at Alaska's violent crime trends from 1980 to 2012" by Laurel Andrews. Alaska Dispatch, April 28, 2014. (http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/20140428/report-looks-alaskas-violent-crime-trends-1980-2012)

The AJSAC is housed in the Justice Center. Click here for more information on AJSAC publications. To subscribe to the Fact Sheet, email editor@uaa.alaska.edu and put "Fact Sheet" in the subject line.

  

New AJSAC Fact Sheet — Arrests for Violent Crimes in Alaska, 1980–2012

The most recent issue of the AJSAC Fact Sheet presents data for 1980–2012 on violent crime arrests in Alaska: murder/non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Data on age, sex, and race of persons arrested for these crimes in 2012 is also presented. Data is drawn from the annual Crime in Alaska report of the Alaska Department of Public Safety, which represents the State of Alaska's contribution to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program. The fact sheet is by Khristy Parker of the Alaska Justice Statistical Analysis Center (AJSAC).