Reports

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  1989 Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act Compliance Monitoring Report

  Read E. N/A and N. E. Schafer

  The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) mandates removal of status offenders and nonoffenders from secure detention and correctional facilities, sight and sound separation of juveniles and adults, and removal of juveniles from adult jails and lockups. In Alaska, two instances of a status offender held in secure detention were recorded in 1989; but both satisfied the "valid court order" exception, so were not counted as violations; by comparison, there were 485 violations in the baseline year of 1976. 336 separation violations were recorded in 1989, representing a 60% reduction from the 1976 baseline and 41% from 1988. 249 jail removal violations occurred, representing a 71% reduction from the 1980 baseline and an 39% reduction from 1988.

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  1987 Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act Compliance Monitoring Report

  Parry L. N/A

  The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) mandates removal of status offenders and nonoffenders from secure detention and correctional facilities, sight and sound separation of juveniles and adults, and removal of juveniles from adult jails and lockups. In Alaska, 32 instances of a status offender held in secure detention were recorded in 1987; by comparison, there were 485 violations in the baseline year of 1976. 806 separation violations were recorded in 1988, representing a 2% reduction from the 1976 baseline if 824 violations. 601 jail removal violations occurred, representing a 30% reduction from the 1980 baseline. The report includes significant discussion of obstacles to Alaska's compliance with JJDPA and measures being taken to overcome those obstacles.

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  Alaska's System for Monitoring Compliance with the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act

  Parry L. N/A

  Pursuant to Section 223(1)(15) of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 and 28 CFR Part 31.303(f), states are required to describe their plans and procedures for annually monitoring compliance with the Act. Alaska's monitoring plan was developed by the Justice Center of the University of Alaska Anchorage in 1988 under contract with the Alaska Division of Family and Youth Services (DFYS).

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  Alaska's Participation in the Interstate Compact for Probation and Parole

  Schafer E. N/A, Leslie Wenderoff, and Peter Mirc

  The Interstate Compact for the Supervision of Parolees and Probationers is an agreement whereby one state agrees to provide supervision for offenders on community release from other states. Participants in the interstate compact agree that any state will accept supervision of a parolee or probationer providing the offender has proper residence either as a resident of that state or with family, and that he/she is able to find employment. Major increases in Alaska's prison population over the past decade have been accompanied by corresponding increases in the number of persons under probation/parole supervision and in the caseloads of individual probation officers. Using a master listing of all persons under the jurisdiction of the Alaska Department of Corrections from 1976 to 1983, the Justice Center at University of Alaska Anchorage made a preliminary assessment of the impact on Alaska of participation in the Interstate Compact. From 1976 to 1983, Alaska processed 1,551 offenders through the Interstate Compact, of whom 999 were received for supervision from other states (64.4% of the total) and 552 (35.6%) were sent to other states. Based on this data, the interstate compact has not yet been an equitable arrangement for any city in Alaska: each city has seen a greater number of incoming than of outgoing transfers.

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  Fire Island Public Opinion Survey: Summary of Findings

  Barnes R. N/A

  Under the terms of a contract between the Alaska Department of Corrections and the University of Alaska, Anchorage, to determine the feasibility of placing a prison on Fire Island, the UAA School of Justice in November 1986 conducted a public opinion telephone survey of a random sample of one thousand residents of the Municipality of Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. Results indicated that respondents favored spending money to prevent and deter crime rather than to punish prisoners or to build additional prisons. When informed about the increased cost of construction and operation of a prison on Fire Island in comparison with other potential sites in Southcentral Alaska, they did not favor building a prison on Fire Island. However, in deciding the appropriate location for a new prison, cost of construction was not deemed as important as either the impact of the prison on the local economy or the costs associated with everyday operations and programs of the new prison.

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  Alaska Correctional Requirements: A Forecast of Prison Population through the Year 2000

  Barnes R. N/A and Richard McCleary

  The growth of the Alaska prison inmate population over the past fifteen years has been substantial. According to available statistics there were 482 institutionalized adult prisoners under control of the Alaska Division of Corrections in January 1971; by January 1980 this population had increased to 770 inmates; and between 1980 and 1985, the number of Alaska inmates almost tripled, rising from 770 to 2,073. Accurate forecasts of the future size and makeup of the prison population are needed as a basis for long-range programs and capital planning. This report presents long and short-term forecasts of the Alaska incarcerated prisoner population and bedspace needs of the Alaska Department of Corrections through the year 2000. The forecasts were developed by taking into consideration historical facts and status quo assumptions. Attention is also given to the impact of the 1980 Alaska criminal code revision on unsentenced and sentenced populations. The forecast derived from this study provides evidence of the need for additional institutional capacity in Southcentral Alaska by 1990. Planning should proceed for a capacity of 1,000 beds to be available for use by 1990.

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  Engineering Feasibility Study of Fire Island as a Location for a Future Correctional Facility: Final Report

  Junge C. N/A and UAA School of Engineering

  This report provides the final results of an engineering assessment and evaluation of a 4,240 acre tract of land on Fire Island for a proposed correctional facility. Fire Island is an island in Upper Cook Inlet about three miles off Point Campbell within the Municipality of Anchorage. The report describes climatic and geophysical factors on the island including temperature, precipitation, wind, topography, geology and soils, seismicity, slide potential, and coastal erosion; facility site evaluation including suitability of soils for building foundations, transportation and site access, utility availability (water, wastewater and solid waste disposal, electricity, and communications), and legal factors (constitutional issues, prison security, and access to prisons); and estimated construction costs. Comparisons with alternative prison sites at Palmer and Goose Bay, both located within the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, are provided. A bibliography of land and facility studies of Fire Island is included.

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  Fire Island Feasibility Study: Summary Report — Final Report

  UAA School of Engineering

  This document summarizes the findings the Fire Island Prison Feasibility Study, undertaken to assess the feasibility of locating a correctional facility on Fire Island in the Municipality of Anchorage. The three reports summarized here covered the three major phases of the study: (1) an assessment of future bed space needs of the Alaska Department of Corrections; (2) an evaluation of the physical site and cost estimates for prison construction and operation; and (3) a public opinion survey and open discussion.

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  Technical Memorandum: Site Assessment and Site Evaluation [Fire Island Prison Feasibility Study]

  UAA School of Engineering

  This report provides a preliminary assessment and evaluation of a site on Fire Island for a proposed correctional facility. Fire Island is an island in Cook Inlet lying off the western coast of Anchorage, Alaska. The report includes photos of aerial and surficial views of the island and discusses physical and environmental factors on the island including climate, topography, geology and soils, seismicity, and slide potentials; facility site evaluation; utility availability including water, wastewater and solid waste disposal, electricty, and communications; transportation and site access, legal factors including potential constitutional violations (cruel and unusual punishment), prison security, and access to prisons; and estimated facility and project costs. A bibliography of land and facility studies of Fire Island is included.

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  Alaska Correctional Requirements: A Forecast of Prison Population through the Year 2000 — Executive Summary

  UAA School of Justice

  This Executive Summary presents major findings of the full report on the bedspace needs of the Alaska Department of Corrections as projected by the School of Justice through the year 2000. The forecast derived from this study provides evidence of the need for additional institutional capacity in Southcentral Alaska by 1990. Planning should proceed for a capacity of 1,000 beds to be available for use by 1990.

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  Bylaws of the Selawik Parents Committee

  Stephen Conn

  These bylaws were drafted on behalf of the Selawik Parent's Committee in the City of Selawik. The Selawik Parent's Committee was formed to work with Selawik children who have broken city or state laws, children in need of aid, and the parents and guardians of such children, seeking to avoid the more extreme remedies of detention (for delinquents) and removal from the home (in cases of children in need of aid) by working out solutions to juvenile and family problems at the village level drawing on the tradition of the elders.

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  Department of Corrections Personnel Survey: Final Report

  Schafer E. N/A

  Education, experience, and training of personnel are frequently used as measures of quality in correctional agencies. This survey of Alaska Department of Corrections (DOC) personnel, conducted in 1984, revealed that employees in all classifications tended to have more than the minimum education or experience required for their positions. Approximately 66 percent of all DOC personnel (N=636) participated in the survey. Of this number, 47.8 percent reported having at least a two-year college degree and 35.1 percent had a four-year degree. Of the corrections-specific respondents to the survey (N=475), more than 40 percent had prior experience in other justice agencies. A comparison of survey responses with position descriptions showed that a substantial proportion of DOC employees had more than the minimum qualifications required. Overall, survey results indicated that Alaska DOC ranked high nationally in measures of personnel quality.

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  Prison Anger Reduction Programs Evaluation Development Project

  Schafer E. N/A and Allan R. Barnes

  This report describes efforts to develop Alaska-specific norms for the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), using the Megargee offender classification system, for use in program evaluations in Alaska correctional facilities, specifically for evaluation of three pilot anger reduction programs initiated at Alaska Department of Corrections institutions in late 1984/early 1985: (1) Women in Crisis (at Fairbanks Correctional Center); (2) M. E. N., Inc. (at Lemon Creek Correctional Center, Juneau); (3) Bering Sea Women's Group (at Nome Correctional Center). The report provides assessments of the three programs and the correctional centers where they were held and makes recommendations for completing the development of Alaska-specific MMPI-based norms and for the administration of the MMPI as pre- and post-test for measuring psychological changes — particularly in hostility/frustration levels — in participants in anger reduction programs.

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  Curriculum Relationships within the University of Alaska, Anchorage: A Report on the School of Justice

  John E. Havelock

  This report, commissioned by the Office of Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, is a preliminary inquiry into the relationship that the curriculum of the School of Justice bears to the curriculum of the College of Arts and Sciences and the other schools of UAA. In particular, the inquiry was initiated to identify "service course" needs of the College of Arts and Sciences and other Schools of the University, that might be met by the Justice faculty and the extent to which other units of the University meet the "service" needs of the School of Justice.

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  The Use of Research in Confronting Violence in Alaska: Final Report

  Knowlton W. Johnson

  This study of research diffusion and use in Alaska was a major effort to generate empirical information about the connection between research and policymaking relating to the critical problem of violence, a problem which threatens the quality of life for Alaskans . Policy questions of interest centered on: (1) describing the research diffusion process in connection with human service agencies that deal with problems of violent behavior; (2) determining how research influences decisions about violence reduction policy and programming; and (3) discovering what facilitates or inhibits the use of research in making decisions about combating violence.

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  Fisheries Law and Enforcement

  John E. Havelock, Joe Barber, and Antonia Moras

  This text provides a general introduction to the laws, agencies, and issues involved in fisheries regulation, particularly in Alaska, originally intended for an introductory course on regulation as part of an extensive curriculum in fisheries at Kodiak Community College, University of Alaska. The text covers international, federal, and Alaska fisheries law through 1982; the history of fisheries and fisheries law in Alaska; federal, Alaska, and local agencies which affect fisheries; and the justice system, law enforcement practice, and individual rights within the maritime context.

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  The Alaska Pretrial Intervention Evaluation Development Project

  Knowlton W. Johnson

  In 1978 the Alaska Department of Law implemented the Pretrial Intervention Program (PTI) in Anchorage to provide an alternative to formal prosecution of first-time offenders. The program was later expanded to 8 other sites in Alaska. The PTI Evaluation Development Project was initiated in 1982 to develop an evaluation system for the PTI program which would provide information to assist PTI management to set screening and treatment policy, determine staff workloads, and make program modifications. This report details the evaluation system's development. Codebook and SPSS programs included in appendices.

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  The Bar Hours Change in Anchorage: A Preliminary Study

  Knowlton W. Johnson and Stephen Conn

  This study, conducted in collaboration with the Salvation Army, Inc., analyzes the impact of a reduction of bar hours in Anchorage, Alaska in October 1981. Prior to the bar hours change, Anchorage bars were closed for only three hours each day. Following the change, bars were closed for eight hours on weekdays and six hours on weekends. Phase I of the study analyzed trends in alcohol distribution and alcohol-related incidents from July 1980 to March 1982. Phase II focused on activities on Fourth Avenue in downtown Anchorage, an area widely perceived as a locus of alcohol-related social disorder. Researchers observed activity in and around Fourth Avenue businesses and conducted semi-structured interviews with employees of designated businesses, social control agents, and emergency service personnel to gather information on perceived positive and negative effects of the bar hours change.

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  Issues and Possible Consequences of Recriminalization of Public Drunkenness: An Informational Report

  Conn N/A and Roger V. Endell

  This report evaluates the possible impact of recriminalization of public intoxication in Alaska. Review of national and state reports and information on the decriminalization of public drunkenness in Alaska lead to the conclusion that recriminalization will either require a significant increase in funding for justice operations or substantial reallocation of limited public safety resources. Recriminalization is unlikely to result in improved treatment of alcohol abusers or to reduce serious crime. Public drunks are more likely to be crime victims rather than perpetrators of serious crimes.

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  Moment of Truth: The Special Relationship of the Federal Government to Alaska Natives and Their Tribes — Update and Issue Analysis

  Stephen Conn, Bart Kaloa Garber, and Stephen Haycox

  Beyond considering the present state of the statutory relationship between the federal government and Alaska Natives, this analysis focuses on the power of Congress and the Executive Branch to change the relationship. Absent congressional acts which mandate some level of federal responsibility to Natives, the Executive Branch possesses an independent power over Native affairs which can be exercised to expand, reduce, or deny a special relationship as an enforceable federal obligation. Includes an appendix by Stephen Haycox, "Historical Aspects of the Federal Obligation to Alaska Natives."

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  Alaska Wealth Management and the Politics of Envy

  John E. Havelock

  This report explores issues in the management of public wealth in Alaska, particularly in relation to the oil industry and oil taxes, the public vs. private sectors, and lessons of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.

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  Examination of Qualifying Criteria for Selection of Law Enforcement Personnel in Alaska: Final Report

  Knowlton W. Johnson and Chloe Clark-Berry

  This report examines the "state of the art" in law enforcement selection practices, analyzes personnel selection methods in terms of their ability to evaluate candidate trainability and interpersonal skills in a fair and equitable manner, and offers options for developing a model selection system for the Alaska Department of Public Safety. The report's findings and recommendations are based on an extensive review of the literature; questionnaires and telephone surveys of law enforcement agencies in the U.S.A., Canada, Australia and New Zealand; and telephone conversations with authorities on the subject of police selection.

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  Potentially Discriminatory Criminal Justice Agency Policies

  John E. Angell

  This report describes potential sources of discrimination in the Alaska criminal justice system related to agency policies and procedures. The study relied on policy and procedural manuals and other written materials describing operational practices and organizational and management information about criminal justice operations. The report identifies policy areas in law enforcement, the legal and judicial system , corrections, and systemwide which provide the highest potential for discrimination on the basis of race, sex, economic condition, or other characteristics.

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  Rural Alaska Corrections Plan (A Summary)

  John E. Angell

  Efforts to improve correctional services in the rural, predominantly Native communities of Alaska have been going on since before statehood. Complete implementation of plans developed by the Alaska Criminal Justice Planning Agency during the 1970s have been hampered by a number of factors: (1) the scope of the planning has tended to be confined to correctional facilities; (2) the problems faced by corrections in Alaska are complicated by diversity of communities served; (3) financial requirements have exceeded available resources; (4) the authority and responsibility for achieving the plans' objectives were unclear. This document offers proposals for a rural corrections plan which offers a comprehensive, systemic — rather than purely correctional — approach for improving public safety and corrections in rural Alaska. It describes the existing situation, philosophy, coordination and planning, organizational proposals, financing, and implementation.

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  Alcohol Control and Native Alaskans — from the Russians to Statehood: The Early Years — Alcohol Control in Village Alaska

  Stephen Conn

  A persistent thread throughout the legal history of Alaska since Russian contact with the Great Land until the present has been deployment of available legal resources to curb drinking by Alaska Indians and Eskimos. The long-held social belief on the part of white colonialists and government agents that Alaska Natives could not drink and became wild persons when intoxicated was translated into an unrelenting legal practice of focusing law and available legal resources on control of Native drinking and prosecution of those who supplied Natives with drink. / Even during four periods of territory-wide prohibition, the prohibition was enforced against Natives and suppliers to Natives, while enforcement was indifferent or nonexistent against territorial whites. / The historical overview confirms the propositions set forth by MacAndrew and Edgerton (1969) that American.Indians can trace current drinking problems to the prior expectations implemented as government policy. It also suggests that dependence on law only as a mechanism to change drinking problems can, in fact, exacerbate drinking problems and create among the impacted group problems with alcohol which may not otherwise have existed. / The dependence on law as a vehicle for social control in Alaska in recent years may relate to an absence of alternatives. However, this singular dependence on law enforcement flows from a "grand tradition" of governmental paternalism which can be interpreted as being as much a cause of drinking problems among Natives as a solution to them.