Established in 1975, the Justice Center is an academic, research and public education program serving the entire state of Alaska. The Justice Center undertakes research into justice concerns as they manifest themselves in Alaska. Areas of Center research have included crime and crime prevention, domestic violence, bush justice, and juvenile justice. The Justice Center is responsible for the collection of University of Alaska Anchorage crime and arrest statistics, and it produces and distributes throughout the state the quarterly Alaska Justice Forum, which presents studies and explores issues related to crime and the administration of justice. The Justice Center also produces video programs on various aspects of the justice system. Members of the Center faculty and professional staff hold advanced degrees from institutions nationally recognized in their fields and have diverse backgrounds in law, police and corrections work and public office. They direct a broad spectrum of research and provide advice and professional assistance on justice-related concerns to participants in the legal, judicial and legislative arenas. The Justice Center includes the Alaska Justice Statistical Analysis Center (SAC), a program funded in part by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice. It makes the results of national research on justice issues available to the Alaska community.
     The academic program is directed at students interested in justice as a field encompassing a broad range of social and behavioral concerns. The program of courses covers the areas of crime and delinquency, law, corrections, police policy and administration, and judicial policy and administration. The undergraduate curriculum, which leads to a Bachelor of Arts degree, provides the educational background for admittance to a variety of operational, administrative, research and planning positions in law, law enforcement, and corrections. It can also provide the basis for pursuit of graduate or professional degrees. Within the undergraduate curriculum the Justice Center offers a separate program leading to certification in paralegal studies. The paralegal program is certified by the American Bar Association.

     The Justice Center began as an entity established within the statewide University of Alaska system to coordinate and provide higher education in the justice field and to conduct organized research in justice-related areas. Its origin stems to planning begun in the mid-1970s by Alaska criminal justice officials to create a center for justice research and development. The University encouraged state officials to organize the center in the University and created a committee, chaired by the University Vice President for Academic Affairs Donald Theophilus, which designed and implemented the unit. This committee was assisted by a group of nationally recognized experts in justice administration and education. The final plan advocated a "criminal" justice center containing organized research and instructional programs with a statewide mission. The "Criminal Justice Center" was initially organized in 1975 directly under the President of the University, but in 1977 was assigned to report to the Chancellor of the Southcentral Region at University of Alaska Anchorage. It was the first organized research unit to be placed at UAA. However, unlike organized research operations in Fairbanks, it was charged with responsibility for creating instruction and service programs which were appendages of and complimentary to its research operation. The Criminal Justice Center was changed to the Justice Center in 1979 to more accurately reflect its mission.
     In 1982 Chancellor David Outcalt reorganized UAA and established the School of Justice, which included a division of academic programs and the Justice Center. In 1984, after negotiations with the U.S. Department of Justice, the Justice Center established the Alaska Justice Statistical Analysis Center (SAC) and UAA became the first university in the country with this federally funded program. As a result of restructuring in 1988, the School of Justice was expanded to a School of Public Affairs and the Justice Center was again returned to its position as the umbrella entity for all UAA Justice programs and activities. In 1996 under a reorganization of the University of Alaska Anchorage the Justice Center became part of the College of Health and Social Welfare (CHSW) (formerly the College of Health, Education and Social Welfare).
     The mission developed for the Justice area programs has been updated over the years. The most recent iteration is as follows:

The Justice Center at the University of Alaska Anchorage has a statewide mission to satisfy Alaskan needs for justice-related higher education, research, and services.

Academic curricula at the undergraduate and graduate levels in the professional field of justice will encompass the areas of social control and the administration of justice, which includes the fields of criminology, law, and policymaking related to policing, judicial functions, and rehabilitative practices.

In the area of research, basic and applied research will be conducted to identify and provide solutions for problems related to the administration of justice in both rural and urban areas of the state in the context of cultural pluralism and rapid economic change. Applied research will be designed for improving the quality and effectiveness of justice services throughout Alaska and the world.

In the area of public service, continuing career education, and training for people employed in justice agencies will be offered, as well as general public education concerning crime, crime prevention, the justice system, and law and legal processes.

Statewide justice planning, rural justice studies, and technical assistance will be offered to legislative committees and legal and executive justice agencies.

     The Justice Center curriculum was developed originally as a statewide model. The University was awarded $35,000 by the U.S. Department of Justice to develop professional associate and baccalaureate degree programs in 1976. The curriculum development was based on national and state surveys of justice-related higher education programs and evaluations of Alaska-specific needs and priorities. The original curriculum was approved in January 1977. Since that time it has been modified both to increase its relevance for the field and to meet preferences of faculty teaching at various locations in the University system.
     The Justice Center instructional program covers the areas of crime and delinquency, paralegal studies, corrections, police, and judicial policy and administration. The Bachelor of Arts degree curriculum combines an interdisciplinary liberal arts education with the professional preparation necessary for careers in the justice field. In Alaska alone, a Justice degree fulfills the minimal educational requirements for admittance to over 20 operational, staff, and administrative job categories in law enforcement, law, court, corrections, and security agencies. The program also prepares students for entry into graduate programs in criminology, justice administration, and law. In addition, the instructional program serves other UAA academic units by providing general courses which fulfill the University education requirements and law courses which are required by other professional programs. Finally, the program is responsible for assisting other justice programs by coordinating statewide curriculum development and offering outreach courses which assist community colleges.
     The Justice baccalaureate degree curriculum requires completion of 14 courses, for a total of 42 Justice credits, in addition to the general University requirements for a Bachelor of Arts degree. These 14 courses consist of a common core of seven courses (Introduction to Justice, Development of Law, Criminology, Justice Organization and Management, Justice and Society, Justice Processes, and Research and Policymaking) which all majors must complete and seven courses selected by students from several additional Justice courses to support an emphasis in the study of general justice, policing, legal studies, bush justice, and corrections. Program objectives are detailed in Justice B.A. Program Objectives and Outcomes. The Paralegal Certificate is a two-year curriculum which has achieved American Bar Association approval. It can be pursued as an independent certificate or as an emphasis in the Justice bachelor's degree.
     The baccalaureate program was the first in the nation to expand from a narrower focus on criminal justice to include study related to civil law and its processes and agencies. Since the establishment of the "Justice" program at UAA, several other institutions of higher education, including American University, University of Louisville, and Arizona State University, have adopted this justice program format. The title Justice Review adopted as an alternative to the Journal of Criminal Justice for the professional publication of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences is indicative of the continuing evolution of the academic professional field of justice throughout the United States.
     An important component of Justice education at UAA is the Justice Center organized research operation, which includes Center staff and support resources and the Alaska Justice Statistical Analysis Center (SAC). The Center was created principally because Alaska justice agencies have been too small as organizations to establish their own research and development units. In establishing the Center, University officials and state officials from the judicial, legislative, and executive branches agreed that locating a justice research and development operation within the state university system -- a setting devoted to free intellectual effort -- would be consistent with the University mission. This applied research/information dissemination approach, which was patterned after the agricultural extension model, is considered a unique contribution of the University of Alaska to the field of justice education.
     The integration of the Justice instructional program with its counterpart research units provides a unique opportunity for students to learn about and participate in the most recent research in the Justice field. Students are encouraged to work on Justice Center projects as part of their undergraduate curriculum. Few other justice-related projects in the country offer such experiences to undergraduate students. The success of this approach depends heavily upon the instructor. The quality of undergraduate students is also an important factor.
     Justice currently has over 500 certificate and bachelor's students. Justice graduates are widely employed by justice agencies in Alaska. Practically all Justice graduates who entered law school of graduate programs have either successfully completed their studies or are presently making satisfactory progress. The Justice Center's commitment to justice-related research, instruction, and service has produced well-rounded and professional competent graduates, many of whom are now influencing the improvement of justice services throughout the state.