An Innovative Response to an Intractable Problem: Using Village Public Safety Officers to Enhance the Criminal Justice Response to Violence Committed Against Alaska Native Women and American Indian Women in Alaska's Tribal Communities, 2008-2011 : Version 1

• Main Author: Myrstol, Brad A.
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research 2019
• Subjects: Indian; north slope; Alaska
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.3886/icpsr37082.v1; https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/NACJD/studies/37082/versions/V1

These data are part of NACJD's Fast Track Release and are distributed as they were received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped by NACJD for release, but not checked or processed except for the removal of direct identifiers. Users should refer to the accompanying readme file for a brief description of the files available with this collection and consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed. This project set out to understand the specific contributions Alaska's village public safety officers (VPSOs) make to the criminal justice responses to violence committed against Alaska Native and American Indian women in Alaska's tribal communities. More specifically, the goal of this study was to empirically document and assess the impact Alaska's VPSO program has on the investigation and prosecution of those who commit acts of sexual and domestic violence against Alaska Native and American Indian women in Alaska's tribal communities. The data collected for this study were compiled from detailed case record reviews of a random sample of sexual assault, sexual abuse of a minor, and domestic violence incidents investigated by the Alaska State Troopers (AST) and closed between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2011. Data pertaining to case-level (e.g., year and month of incident report and case closure, time to report) and incident-level (e.g., assault location, weapon use, assaultive behaviors) characteristics were collected, as were demographic data describing suspects, victims, and witnesses/third parties. The study also collected data detailing suspect and victim alcohol/drug use and intoxication, injuries sustained by victims, victim resistance strategies and behaviors, and victim disclosures, among other measures. Additional charging and case resolution (referral, prosecution, conviction) data were also compiled. Finally, the study collected detailed data on the activities and roles played by VPSOs in investigations, as well as additional follow-up activities and services provided to victims. In total, 683 sexual assault (SA) and sexual abuse of a minor (SAM) and 982 domestic violence (DV) case records were coded and analyzed. The study collections includes 6 Stata (.dta) files. The zip file includes 2013-VW-CX-0001_DV_CASE.dta (n=982; 127 variables), 2013-VW-CX-0001_DV_CHARGE.dta (n=3711; 23 variables), 2013-VW-CX-0001_DV_INDIV.dta (n=3747; 105 variables), 2013-VW-CX-0001_SA_CASE.dta (n=683; 133 variables), 2013-VW-CX-0001_SA_CHARGE.dta (n=1060; 24 variables), 2013-VW-CX-0001_SA_INDIV.dta (n=3140; 112 variables). : The purpose of this study was to contribute to the National Institute of Justice's research program on violence committed against Indian women in tribal communities - specifically, its efforts to evaluate state and tribal responses to violence against Indian women in tribal communities - as well as the specific objective identified in the Violence Against Women Act of 2005 to ensure that "perpetrators of violent crimes against Indian women are held accountable for their criminal behavior." More specifically, this project set out to understand the specific contributions village public safety officers (VPSOs) make to the criminal justice responses to violence committed against Alaska Native and American Indian women in Alaska's tribal communities. The study focused on the impact VPSOs have on the investigation of domestic violence, sexual assault, and sexual abuse of a minor incidents, and the extent to which VPSOs facilitated the prosecution of those who committed violence against Alaska Native and American Indian women in Alaska's tribal communities. : The data collected for this study were compiled from detailed case record reviews of sexual assault, sexual abuse of a minor, and domestic violence incidents investigated by the Alaska State Troopers (AST) and closed between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2011. : The data file 2013-VW-CX-0001_DV_CASE.dta (n=982; 127 variables) contains information related to domestic violence cases such as when the cases occurred and what actions were taken by VPSOs. The variables also include case details related to what type of violence occurred, victim access, stalking, threats, and whether the case was referred. The data file 2013-VW-CX-0001_DV_CHARGE.dta (n=3711; 23 variables) contains information related to domestic violence charges. Variables include charge level, class, category, and disposition. The data file 2013-VW-CX-0001_DV_INDIV.dta (n=3747; 105 variables) contains information related to domestic violence suspects and victims. Variables include suspect and victim injury, victim disclosure information, and other administrative information. The data file 2013-VW-CX-0001_SA_CASE.dta (n=683; 133 variables) contains information related to sexual assault cases descriptions. Variables include types of evidence, timeline of reporting, description of assault, and suspect characteristics. The data file 2013-VW-CX-0001_SA_CHARGE.dta (n=1060; 24 variables) contains information related to sexual assault charges. Variables include charge level, class, category, and disposition. The data file 2013-VW-CX-0001_SA_INDIV.dta (n=3140; 112 variables) contains information related to sexual assault suspects and victims. Variables include suspect and victim injury, victim disclosure information, and other administrative information. : Presence of Common Scales: None : Response Rates: N/A : Datasets: DS1: Dataset : coded on-site observation : All sexual assault, sexual abuse of a minor, and domestic violence incidents closed by the Alaska State Troopers (AST) in catchment area during the study period. Smallest Geographic Unit: Region : The sampling frame for the detailed case file review consisted of all sexual assault (SA), sexual abuse of a minor (SAM), and domestic violence (DV) case records closed by the Alaska State Troopers (AST) during the study period. Case records were limited to SA, SAM and DV cases that occurred in AST's C-Detachment, which includes all of western Alaska except the North Slope. AST provided the fully enumerated roster of SA, SAM and DV case record numbers from which the analysis sample was drawn. Case records were randomly selected using a stratified random sampling procedure. At the first stage, case records were stratified by type (SA/SAM, DV). At the second stage, case records were stratified by the calendar year in which they were closed. Case records were selected (without replacement) following the second stratification stage.