NCJ Number
129669
Date Published
1991
Length
383 pages
Annotation
This study deals with crime and the evolution of the criminal justice system in Alaska from 1935 through 1965.
Abstract
Criminal justice, as referred to in the study, includes both an analysis of major crime and social mechanisms available for its control. The four major crimes traced within the modern Alaskan frontier experience are homicide, robbery, burglary, and theft. Social control mechanisms include the courts, police, prosecuting attorneys, incarceration, and probation. Crime statistics are extracted from and tabulated for the three major Alaskan judicial districts of Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau. The study also examines vigilantism and the miners' code in frontier law, the role of juridical and police functions, corrections, environmental differences, and the character of social deviance in frontier settings. Most of the quantitative data are drawn from 2,129 felony cases in Alaska from 1935 through 1965. Data analyze homicides by time, season, location, sex of assailant and victim, weapon used, frequency of jury trials, length of sentence, and the presiding judge's identity. Tables also include identities of prosecuting attorneys and defense counsel and specialized information such as motive, victim-precipitated crime, and alcohol prevalence as a possible homicide correlate. Inferences are drawn regarding the relation between criminal justice professionals and politics, the legal and medical status of insanity as a defense in homicide trials, and the implications of plea bargaining for criminal justice. References, endnotes, and tables