AJiC Reports

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  • Publication
    Alaska Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Data Systems Development: Gaps, Opportunities, & Recommendations
    (UAA College of Health, 2021-06-28) Hedwig, Travis; Miller, Virginia; Parker, David; Payne, Troy C.; Gonzalez, Andrew; Kisarauskas, Yevgenii; Slone, Avram; Brown, Paulsen; Harvey, Hattie; Hiratsuka, Vanessa; Reed, Danielle; Smith, Curtis; Ward, Karen
    The report, "Alaska Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Data Systems Development," was prepared for the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority by the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) College of Health. This report was a partnership between the Alaska Justice Information Center, the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, the Center for Human Development, and the Division of Population Health Sciences.
  • Publication
    Alaska Police Officer Use of Deadly Force: 2010-2020
    (Alaska Justice Information Center, University of Alaska Anchorage, 2021-04-21) Payne, Troy C.; Kisarauskas, Yevgenii; Henderson, Robert E.
    The Alaska Department of Law Office of Special Prosecutions (OSP) and the Alaska Justice Information Center (AJiC) partnered to answer two questions regarding police officer use of deadly force. First, to what extent existing OSP investigative casefiles could be used to fully describe the nature of uses of lethal force incidents in Alaska. Second, to describe lethal use of force incidents using the available information. We found that while OSP casefiles files contained sufficient information for OSP’s purpose of determining whether criminal charges are warranted under the circumstances, the OSP casefiles lacked some information of interest to policymakers and the public. AJiC analyzed all OSP casefiles involving officer uses of lethal force from 2010 to October 2020, covering a total of 92 incidents, 100 citizens, and 295 officers. Just over half of citizens died as a result of the incident in which deadly force was used, with another quarter sustaining serious injuries. Nearly every citizen involved displayed or used a weapon. No human officers were killed in the incidents reviewed, but two police dogs were killed, and three officers were seriously injured. Over a third of incidents involved the citizen making statements indicating they wanted to commit suicide-by-cop, and over two-thirds of incidents involved a citizen exhibiting some indication of mental illness during the incident. A third of incidents involved a citizen who had consumed alcohol, and methamphetamine/amphetamine was the most common drug other than alcohol, involved in more than a quarter of incidents. We offer the following recommendations for data collection based on our project: 1. The State of Alaska should develop a comprehensive statewide data collection regarding police officer uses of lethal force housed at an agency that can compile and use the information to drive policy. 2. OSP casefiles can serve as a starting point for data collection, but OSP case files cannot be the sole data source. 3. The development of a comprehensive data collection platform should include mandatory standardized data elements, starting with the FBI’s National Use-of-Force Data Collection Elements. 4. Other data elements should be considered for inclusion by a broad group of stakeholders from inside and outside of the criminal justice system. 5. Detailed use of lethal force incident data should be public where possible — but that may not always be possible or advisable.
  • Publication
    AJiC Tableau Dashboard Style Guide
    (2020-09-02) Payne, Troy C.; Kisarauskas, Yevgenii; Slone, Avram; Gonzalez, Andrew
    This document describes the broad design and style conventions of Alaska Justice Information Center (AJiC) Tableau data dashboards. This document is meant as a style guide, and deviations from the general guidelines may be necessary for specific projects. Design goals and styles for every part of a dashboard are presented in the document.
  • Publication
    Alaska State Troopers C Detachment Patrol Staffing Study Final Report and Description of Police Incidents
    (Alaska Justice Information Center, University of Alaska Anchorage, 2020-07-07) Payne, Troy C.; Kisarauskas, Yevgenii
    This report provides a workload-based staffing estimate for the Alaska State Troopers C Detachment sworn staff, including troopers and court service officers. The report begins by examining incidents serviced by C Detachment for meaningful changes over years, seasonal variation, and variation by incident type. Next, we describe challenges of creating a workload- based model for staffing C Detachment, followed by summaries of interviews with sergeants in C Detachment and a description of C Detachment’s stated goals. The model is specified next, including a post-by-post staffing recommendation for C Detachment based on the 75th percentile of the number of reports, adjusted for leave and other factors.
  • Publication
    Alaska Results First Initiative: Adult Criminal Justice Program Benefit Cost Analysis
    (Alaska Justice Information Center, University of Alaska Anchorage, 2017-10-02) Valle, Araceli
    Results of the Alaska Results First Initiative show that most of Alaska’s evidence-based adult criminal justice programs are showing positive return on state investment of money. Notably, all but one of those programs are shown to measurably reduce recidivism — the likelihood that an inmate will re-offend when released — which not only improves public safety, but saves the state the costs associated with criminal activity. The State of Alaska annually invests in Alaska’s adult criminal justice system to provide services and programs to eligible offenders, including domestic violence treatment, vocational and general education, and re-entry services. The study estimates that approximately $20.58 million in state funds were invested annually to the 19 evidence-based adult criminal justice programs that are shown — by academic studies and rigorous reviews — to yield results. The report is the result of a multi-year project, with support and participation of all three branches of Alaska state government, and in partnership with the Pew-MacArthur Results First Initiative.
  • Publication
    Alaska Results First Initiative: Progress Report & Initial Findings
    (Alaska Justice Information Center, University of Alaska Anchorage, 2016-07-15) Valle, Araceli; Myrstol, Brad A.
    This report presents the initial results of Alaska’s Results First Initiative, which is examining both the effectiveness and the efficiency of the state's adult criminal justice programs by conducting a comprehensive review of the full array of programs funded by the state. The review includes a thorough inventory of state-funded programs, determining the proportion of those programs that are evidence-based, and detailing both the costs of operating those programs, as well as the benefits derived from them via reductions in offender recidivism. The Alaska Results First Iniative is a participant in the Pew-MacArthur Results First Initiative, a "smart justice" approach to reducing recidivism under the auspices of The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, that is being led in our Alaska by the Alaska Justice Information Center (AJiC), housed in the UAA Justice Center.