The Alaska Justice Information Center (AJiC) is well-positioned to provide Alaska policy makers and lawmakers with the information and research necessary to make evidence-based decisions, according to Brad Myrstol, AJiC director, in recent stories published in Alaska Business Monthly and Cordova Times. AJiC released its first major report, the Alaska Results First Initiative, in October, and legislators have called upon Myrstol to provide information about crime rates numerous times this fall.Nationally, and in Alaska, policy makers have historically relied upon "gut-feel" rather than data, according to Myrstol. That trend is changing and AJiC is making it possible for lawmakers to dig deeper and get the information they need to support policy decisions. This year AJiC is building an integrated Alaska justice platform, a repository for justice data routinely collected by criminal justice agencies in Alaska. The platform will make it possible for AJiC to help answer the complex questions Alaska lawmakers face when creating justice policy for Alaskans.
"How UAA’s Justice Information Center Is Using Data to Help Policymakers" by Catalina Myers.
- Cordova Times (9 Nov 2017).
- Alaska Business Monthly (9 Nov 2017).
