Section 44.19.645. Powers and duties of the commission.

   (a) The commission shall evaluate the effect of sentencing laws and criminal justice practices on the criminal justice system to evaluate whether those sentencing laws and criminal justice practices provide for protection of the public, community condemnation of the offender, the rights of victims of crimes, the rights of the accused and the person convicted, restitution from the offender, and the principle of reformation. The commission shall make recommendations for improving criminal sentencing practices and criminal justice practices, including rehabilitation and restitution. The commission shall annually make recommendations to the governor and the legislature on how savings from criminal justice reforms should be reinvested to reduce recidivism. In formulating its recommendations, the commission shall consider
        (1) statutes, court rules, and court decisions relevant to sentencing of criminal defendants in misdemeanor and felony cases;
        (2) sentencing practices of the judiciary, including use of presumptive sentences;
        (3) means of promoting uniformity, proportionality, and accountability in sentencing;
        (4) alternatives to traditional forms of incarceration;
        (5) the efficacy of parole and probation in ensuring public safety, achieving rehabilitation, and reducing recidivism;
        (6) the adequacy, availability, and effectiveness of treatment and rehabilitation programs;
        (7) crime and incarceration rates, including the rate of violent crime and the abuse of controlled substances, in this state compared to other states, and best practices adopted by other states that have proven to be successful in reducing recidivism;
        (8) the relationship between sentencing priorities and correctional resources;
        (9) the effectiveness of the state's current methodologies for the collection and dissemination of criminal justice data; and
        (10) whether the schedules for controlled substances in AS 11.71.140 - 11.71.190 are reasonable and appropriate, considering the criteria established in AS 11.71.120(c).
   (b) The commission may
        (1) recommend legislative and administrative action on criminal justice practices;
        (2) select and retain the services of consultants as necessary;
        (3) appoint a working group to review and analyze the implementation of the recommendations made in the justice reinvestment report in December 2015, and other recommendations issued by the commission, and regularly report to the commission on the status of the implementation; a working group may include representatives of criminal justice agencies and key constituencies who are not members of the commission; and
        (4) enter into data-sharing agreements with the Justice Center at the University of Alaska, the Alaska Judicial Council, or other research institutions for the purposes of analyzing data and performance metrics.
   (c) The commission shall
        (1) receive and analyze data collected by agencies and entities charged with implementing the recommendations of the 2015 justice reinvestment report and other recommendations issued by the commission and who are collecting data during the implementation and management of specific commission recommendations;
        (2) track and assess outcomes from the recommendations the commission has made and corresponding criminal justice reforms;
        (3) request, receive, and review data and reports on performance outcome data relating to criminal justice reform;
        (4) appoint a working group to review and analyze sexual offense statutes and report to the legislature if there are circumstances under which victims' rights, public safety, and the rehabilitation of offenders are better served by changing existing laws; the working group shall consult with the office of victims' rights in developing the report; the commission shall deliver the report to the senate secretary and the chief clerk of the house of representatives and notify the legislature that the report is available; the commission may include in the working group people representing a variety of viewpoints who are not members of the commission; and
        (5) explore the possibility of entering into mutually agreeable arrangements with regional nonprofit organizations, including tribes and tribal organizations, to provide the pretrial, probation, and parole services needed in underserved areas of the state.
   (d) Agencies and entities reporting data to the working group authorized in (b)(3) of this section under (e) - (g) of this section shall
        (1) report data individually by case number, including an identifier number such as the Alaska Public Safety Information Network number, the court case number, the Alaska Corrections Offender Management System number, and the arrest tracking number, as available;
        (2) include demographic information necessary for tracking individuals across multiple databases, including the individual's first name, last name, middle initial as available, and date of birth; and
        (3) include information necessary to measure possible disparate effects of criminal justice laws and policies, such as race and gender as available.
   (e) The judiciary shall report quarterly to the working group authorized in (b)(3) of this section. The report shall include criminal case processing data, including
        (1) the date, type, and number of all charges disposed within the quarter;
        (2) the disposition of each charge, whether convicted, dismissed, acquitted, or otherwise disposed; and
        (3) the date of the disposition for each charge.
   (f) The Department of Public Safety shall report quarterly to the working group authorized under (b)(3) of this section. The report shall include the following information:
        (1) data on citations and arrests for criminal offenses, including the offense charged and reason for arrest if an arrest was made;
        (2) data on all criminal convictions and sentences during the quarter; and
        (3) criminal history information for selected offenders as agreed on by the department and the working group authorized in (b)(3) of this section.
   (g) The Department of Corrections shall report quarterly to the working group authorized in (b)(3) of this section. The report shall include the following information:
        (1) data on pretrial decision making and outcomes, including information on pretrial detainees admitted for a new criminal charge; detainees released at any point before case resolution; time spent detained before first release or case resolution; pretrial defendant risk level and charge; pretrial release recommendations made by pretrial services officers; pretrial conditions imposed on pretrial detainees by judicial officers, including amount of bail, and supervision conditions; and information on pretrial outcomes, including whether or not the defendant appeared in court or was re-arrested during the pretrial period;
        (2) data on offenders admitted to the Department of Corrections for a new criminal conviction, including the offense type, number of prior felony convictions, sentence length, and length of stay;
        (3) data on the population of the Department of Corrections, using a one-day snapshot on the first day of the first month of each quarter, broken down by type of admission, offense type, and risk level;
        (4) data on offenders on probation supervised by the Department of Corrections, including the total number of offenders supervised using a one-day snapshot on the first month of each quarter; admissions to probation; assignments to a program under AS 33.05.020(f); probation sentence length; time served on the sentence; whether probation was successfully completed, any new convictions for a felony offense, and any sentences to a term of imprisonment while on probation;
        (5) data on parole, including the number of offenders supervised on parole, using a one-day snapshot on the first month of each quarter; the number of parole hearings; the parole grant rate and number of parolees released on administrative, discretionary, and special medical parole; and information on parolees, including time spent on parole, whether parole was successfully completed, any new convictions for a new felony offense, and any sentences to a term of imprisonment while on parole;
        (6) data on the implementation of policies from the 2015 justice reinvestment report, including the number and percentage of offenders who earn compliance credits under AS 33.05.020(h) in one or more months, and the total amount of credits earned; the average number of sanctions issued under AS 33.05.020(g) before a petition to revoke probation or parole is filed; and the most common violations of probation or parole; and
        (7) data on probation and parole revocations, including information on probationers and parolees admitted for a supervision violation pre-case and post-case resolution; probationers and parolees admitted solely for a technical violation; probationers and parolees admitted for a new arrest; the number of previous revocations on the current sentence, if any; the length of time held pre-case resolution; the length of time to case resolution; and the length of stay.

Notes

History

(Sec. 32 ch 83 SLA 2014; am Sec. 163, 164 ch 36 SLA 2016)