Research Overviews: Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) statistics for Alaska

Three new issues of Justice Center Research Overview present crime and arrest statistics for serious violent and property crimes in Alaska from 2002 to 2010. Alaska figures for 2010 are compared with those for five other western U.S. states — Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming. The statistics were compiled by Khristy Parker, Research Specialist.

The figures come from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program, which collects information from nearly 18,000 law enforcement agencies in the U.S. on eight serious crimes, known as Part I offenses, and over twenty less serious offenses, known as Part II offenses. Part I offenses include four violent crimes — murder/non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault — and four property crimes — burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. The figures presented in the research overviews are for all eight Part I offenses.

• "Violent and Property Offenses in Alaska, 2002–2010" presents crime rates and number of offenses known to police for seven of the eight serious offenses defined as Part I offenses (murder/non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft). UCR does not report the other Part I offense, arson, by state; but data on arson arrests are included in the other two Research Overviews released today.  Overall, the data show that the rate of violent crime reported to Alaska law enforcement increased 13 percent from 2002 to 2010, while the rate of reported property crime declined 24 percent during the same period

• "Adult Violent and Property Crime Arrests in Alaska, 2002–2010" presents data on adult arrests and arrest rates for Part I crimes. Overall, the adult arrest rate for violent crime in Alaska increased 85 percent from 2002 to 2010, while the adult arrest rate for property crime increased 5 percent during the same period.

• "Juvenile Violent and Property Crime Arrests in Alaska, 2002–2010" presents data on juvenile arrests and arrest rates during the period. Overall, the juvenile arrest rate for violent crime in Alaska increased 4 percent from 2002 to 2010, while the juvenile arrest rate for property crime declined 40 percent during the same period.

Justice Center publications soon available on EBSCO criminal justice database

The Justice Center quarterly research publication, Alaska Justice Forum, will be available later this year on the EBSCO Criminal Justice Abstracts with Full Text database. The Justice Center recently signed an agreement with EBSCOhost of EBSCO Publishing, the leading search platform for full-text online research databases in institutions worldwide.  Issues of the Justice Research Overview will eventually also be added to the database.

Criminal Justice Abstracts includes bibliographic records covering essential areas related to criminal justice and criminology and contains more than 200,000 records selected from the most important sources within the discipline.

Criminal Justice Abstracts is available on the Consortium Library website.

Research Overview: Gangs and the Fairbanks Gang Assessment

"A Brief Look at Gangs and the Fairbanks Gang Assessment" is the topic of the most recent Justice Center Research Overview.  Khristy Parker gives a short summary of national and Alaska gang data related to gang member demographics, motivation for gang membership, and problems caused by gangs.

A more detailed look at this subject is in the Alaska Justice Forum, Winter 2011 issue : "National Data and the Fairbanks Gang Assessment" by Khristy Parker and Shea Daniels, "Legal Definitions of Gang and Gang Crime,"  "Gang Units in Local Law Enforcement Agencies," and "Further Reading: Gangs."

Research overview: Violent and property offenses in Anchorage

"Violent and Property Offenses in Anchorage, 2003–2009", the most recent issue of Justice Center Research Overview, presents crime rates and number of offenses for violent and property crimes in Anchorage known to police from 2003 to 2009. Data for Anchorage was also compared with that for five cities of similar size in the western U.S. — Spokane, Salt Lake City, Portland, Colorado Springs, and Boise. The research overview was compiled by Khristy Parker of the UAA Justice Center.

The figures come from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program, which collects information from nearly 18,000 law enforcement agencies in the U.S. on eight serious crimes, known as Part I offenses, and over twenty less serious offenses, known as Part II offenses. Part I offenses include four violent crimes — murder/non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault — and four property crimes — burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. The figures presented in the research overview are for all eight Part I offenses.

Research Overview: Stalking victimization

Stalking victimization is the topic of the most recent Justice Center Research Overview.

"Stalking Victimization: Comparisons Between Alaska and U.S. Data" by Khristy Parker presents information on stalking victimization currently available for Alaska and notes contrasts and similarities with the U.S. national data on stalking, looking in particular at gender, age, race, and relationship between victims and offenders. Limitations on the comparability of Alaska and national data are noted.

See also the Justice Center website for related publications on stalking and victims of crime.

Research Overview: Underage drinking

Underage drinking is the topic of the most recent Justice Center Research Overview.

"Problems and Costs Associated With Underage Drinking" by Khristy Parker presents the most recent information (2007) on the public problems and costs of underage drinking in the U.S. and in Alaska, and describes the response to the problem of underage drinking in Alaska. In 2007, Alaska was ranked 39th among U.S. states for total costs of underage drinking, but had the highest costs of underage drinking per youth — nearly twice the national average.

See also the Justice Center website for related publications on alcohol and alcohol abuse and on juvenile delinquency.

Research Overview: Referrals to the Alaska Division of Juvenile Justice, 2003–2008

Referrals of youth to the juvenile justice system is the topic of the most recent Justice Center Research Overview.

"Referrals to the Alaska Division of Juvenile Justice: 2003–2008" by André B. Rosay presents statistics on juveniles referred by law enforcement agencies to the Alaska Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) from 2003 to 2008.

Juveniles are referred to DJJ if there is probable cause that a youth (1) committed an offense which would be criminal if committed by an adult, (2) committed a felony traffic offense, or (3) committed an alcohol offense after two prior convictions in District Court for minor consuming. Adults may be referred to the Alaska Division of Juvenile Justice if their offenses were committed as juveniles.

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 Research Overview: Two new issues on Anchorage arrestees & homelessness

Two new issues of the Justice Center Research Overview look at homelessness among adult male arrestees in Anchorage:

• "Homelessness Among Drug-Using Adult Male Arrestees in Anchorage, 2000-2003" (July 2009)
• "Criminal Offending Among Homeless Drug-Using Male Arrestees, Anchorage, 2000–2003" (August 2009)
  

Both Overviews, by Justice Center faculty member Brad A. Myrstol, are based upon data collected in Anchorage from 2000 to 2003 as part of the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) program. Anchorage was one of 40 sites which participated in the nationwide ADAM program. Justice Center researchers collected data on the prevalence and types of drug use among booked arrestees during four two-week periods each year, once per quarter, at Cook Inlet Pretrial Facility and Anchorage's Sixth Avenue Jail (through 2001) and at the Anchorage Correctional Complex (2002-2003).

Although the program was discontinued in 2003, its data continues to be valuable for understanding alcohol and drug use among Anchorage arrestees. ADAM data was also the basis for a recent Alaska Justice Forum article by Brad Myrstol, "Drug Use Trajectories of Anchorage Male Arrestees: 2000–2003" (Summer 2009).

For further information, see our bibliographies on homelessness and on drugs & drug abuse.

Research Overview: Sex Offender Registries and Notification Programs

"Sex Offender Registries and Notification Programs," the fourth issue of the Justice Center Research Overview, presents a brief history of sex offender registries and notification programs nationally and in Alaska; describes provisions of Alaska's registry/notification laws; and discusses recent research findings about the effectiveness of such laws and their impact on offenders.

The research overview was prepared by Deborah Periman, who has previously written on Alaska's sex offender registry law for the Spring/Summer 2008 issue of the Alaska Justice Forum.

Research Overview: Victim-Suspect Relationship in Sexual Assault Cases

"Victim-Suspect Relationship in Sexual Assault Cases Reported to Law Enforcement: Alaska and National Data," the third issue of the Justice Center Research Overview, provides an overview of key research findings nationally and in Alaska on the relationships between victims and suspects in sexual assault cases.

This research overview compares data on victim-suspect relationships in sexual assault cases reported in the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) with information from three Alaska studies — the Anchorage Police Department (APD) study of sexual assaults reported to APD from 2000 to 2003; the Alaska Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) study of sexual assault nurse examinations conducted in Anchorage (1996–2004), Bethel and Fairbanks (2005–2006), and Homer, Kodiak, Kotzebue, Nome, and Soldotna (2005); and the Alaska State Trooper (AST) study of sexual assaults reported to AST in 2003 and 2004.

Relationships between victims and suspects in sexual assault cases have important implications for policy. In particular, stranger assaults are more likely to be reported to police.

Research Overview: Violent and Property Offenses in Anchorage, 2003–2007

"Violent and Property Offenses in Anchorage, 2003–2007", the second issue of Justice Center Research Overview, presents crime rates and number of offenses for violent and property crimes in Anchorage known to police from 2003 to 2007.

The figures come from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program, which collects information from nearly 18,000 law enforcement agencies in the U.S. on eight serious crimes, known as Part I offenses, and over twenty less serious offenses, known as Part II offenses. Part I offenses include four violent crimes — murder/non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault — and four property crimes — burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. The figures presented in the research overview are for all eight Part I offenses.

New publication: Justice Center Research Overview

The Justice Center has launched a new publication, Justice Center Research Overview. These brief two-page papers will be published monthly.

The publication's inaugural issue, "Batterer Intervention Programs (BIPs)" prepared by Khristy Parker, provides an overview of key research findings nationally and in Alaska on batterer intervention programs (BIPs). BIPs are intervention and treatment programs intended to reduce recidivism rates among men arrested for domestic violence offenses.