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| Dr. Brad Mystol, AJ-SAC Director. |
Dr. Brad Myrstol was appointed Director of the Alaska Justice Statistical Analysis Center (AJ-SAC) on September 7, 2012. Dr. Myrstol is an Assistant Professor of Justice, serving as a member of the Justice Center faculty since 2009. Immediately prior to joining the Justice Center, Dr. Myrstol was an Assistant Professor in the
Department of Sociology & Criminal Justice at the University of Arkansas, where he also served as a Research Assistant Professor in the
Community and Family Institute. The Alaska Justice and Statistical Analysis Center was established by
Administrative Order of Governor Bill Sheffield in 1986 and has been housed within the Justice Center since that time.
Research
Dr. Myrstol’s current research spans three substantive areas: (1) public perceptions of police, (2) homelessness and criminal justice, and (3) the criminal justice response to violence against women. His research has been published in a number of criminal justice and criminology journals, including
Crime & Delinquency, Western Criminology Review, the
American Journal of Criminal Justice, the
Journal of Drug Issues, and
Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management.
His most recent studies include an examination the intersection of place and social capital on depressive symptomology of homeless persons, and a study of Alaska Native perceptions of police in Anchorage. Dr. Myrstol just completed a study of the discriminant validity of marijuana odor detection in police searches, and he currently serves as Co-Investigator of the
Alaska Victimization Survey, a statewide data collection effort unique to Alaska that is designed to provide reliable and valid estimates of intimate partner violence and sexual violence that can be used to guide planning and policy development.
From 2002 to 2006 Dr. Myrstol worked as a Research Associate in the
Justice Center. During this time, he was the Co-Principal Investigator
and Project Director of the
Anchorage Community Survey, the
Project Safe
Neighborhoods Household Survey, and the
Police Alcohol-related Services
Study; Project Coordinator for the
Anchorage Community Indicators
Project; Lead Data Analyst for
Project Safe Neighborhoods – Alaska; and,
Site Coordinator for the
Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) program.
In addition to these duties, Dr. Myrstol’s dissertation research
examining the impact of citizen alcohol use on police patrol was
conducted in Anchorage with the Anchorage Police Department during this
period. Dr. Myrstol holds a doctorate in criminal justice from
Indiana University.
Statistical Analysis Centers (SACs)
Since 1972, the
Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) and its predecessor agency, the National Criminal Justice Information and Statistics Service, has provided support to state and territorial governments to establish and operate Statistical Analysis Centers (SACs) to collect, analyze, and report statistics on crime and justice to federal, state, and local levels of government, and to share state-level information nationally. There are currently SACs in 53 states and territories. The SACs are represented by the
Justice Research and Statistics Association (JRSA).
The information produced by SACs and their involvement in criminal justice projects have been, and will continue to be, critical to federal, state, and local criminal justice agencies and community organizations as they develop programs and policies related to crime, illegal drugs, victim services, and the administration of justice.
Alaska Justice Statistical Analysis Center (AJ-SAC)
The Alaska Justice Statistical Analysis Center was established by Administrative Order No. 89, signed by Governor Sheffield on July 2, 1986. The AJ-SAC was declared responsible for assisting Alaska criminal justice agencies and state and local governments and officials by:
• Maintaining data and researching available information bases;
• Providing advice and service related to technical and procedural problems involving statistical analysis of justice data;
• Developing methods and conducting statistical analyses;
• Responding to requests for justice information; and
• Providing Alaska representation to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), and the Justice Research and Statistics Association (JRSA).
In fulfilling these responsibilities, the AJ-SAC may be called upon to assist state and local justice agencies and organizations in securing federal grants to respond to specific informational and/or data requests from BJS, BJA, JRSA, or other entities under the
Office of Justice Programs (OJP) umbrella.
