This slideshow presentation provides an overview of key results from Justice Center research on sexual assault in Alaska through August 2009, with discussion of victimization and its costs, victim and suspect characteristics, victim-suspect relationships, alcohol use, criminal case processing, and recidivism.
This presentation on key results from Justice Center research on sexual assault in Alaska provides an overview of data from national, state, and local research studies, including Uniform Crime Reports (UCR), Alaska State Troopers (AST), Anchorage Police Department (APD), Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE), Alaska Department of Law (DOL). The presentation discusses key implications from Justice Center research, as well as additional research needs such as victimization surveys and a statewide surveillance system. Data is depicted on sexual violence through a series of graphs and charts, providing comparisons with national numbers for context. UCR statistics exclude unreported rapes to law enforcement, statutory and incapacitated rapes, rapes with male victims, other sex offenses, and rapes with more serious offenses such as homicide; reporting agencies vary by year, and rankings are invalid assessments that ignore variables that affect crime. The presenter notes that there is no data on forcible rape or sexual assault for Alaska due to either the samples being too small or lack of related questions in surveys; true victimization rates are unknown; factors that affect reporting are unknown; and most vulnerable populations remain hidden. The presentation also depicts the costs of victimization, including tangible and intangible costs but excluding offender and justice costs; policy implications; and key results on victim and suspect characteristics and legal resolutions; and recidivism tracking. Effective strategy recommendations include: enhancing local paraprofessional police presence; strengthening local alcohol prohibitions; enhancing investigation capacity; and promoting access to assault nurse examiners.