A publication of the Justice Center	Alaska Justice Statistical Analysis Center

"Firearms Use in Violent Crime in Alaska and the U.S."

This article presents figures on the use of firearms in the commission of violent crimes in Alaska and the United States as a whole from 1980 thorugh 1997. For these years firearms were used in a solid majority of the murders committed each year in the United States, with handguns the type of firearm most often used in these crimes. Figures for Alaska fluctuate, but in most of the years for which data are available, most murders and non-negligent manslaughters involved firearms use, and firearms were used in a substantial number of other violent crime categories, particularly robbery.

"Review Essay: Race to Incarcerate"
by John Riley

In 1980, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, American jails and prisons held approximately 578,000 inmates; by mid-1998, that number had risen to over 1.8 million persons. This essay focuses on Race to Incarcerate, Marc Mauer's recent contribution to the growing literature on the unprecedented increase in prison populations in the United States in recent years and the national emphasis on punishment. Mauer is well-known for his work with the Sentencing Project, which has resulted in publication of a number of influential studies that are particularly well known for calling attention to problems of racial disparity in the U.S. justice system. Race to Incarcerate reprsents an extension of that effort and provides a reasonably lucid and concise account of a complex and important issue.

"Judicial Council Report on Palmer Probation Project"

This article summarizes an Alaska Judicial Council report on a 15-month pilot probation program for misdemeanor domestic violence offenders in Palmer. The Palmer project, which ran from 1998 through the first part of 1999, had two goals: to develop offender accountability and to increase victim safety. Evaluation of the program suggests that probation supervision did not help offenders complete court-ordered treatment, but that it provided valuable resources to victims and a level of victim service not regularly available for misdemeanor cases. Approximately 95 percent of Alaska domestic violence offenders convicted of domestic violence are convicted of misdemeanors.