At least one-quarter of Alaska's people come from cultural or ethnic minority groups. Many Alaska Natives speak Native languages, and a number of recent immigrants speak English poorly or not at all. A recent study by the Alaska Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Fairness and Access examined the issue of cultural and ethnic bias within the context of the state court system. It concluded that many minority residents find the courts intimidating to the point of being inaccessible. Cases are complicated by language barriers, cultural differences, lack of access to attorneys, lack of familiarity with legal system procedures and mistrust.
Similar issues exist in the provision of probation and parole supervision and treatment services.
A concern shared by many Commission members was that system-wide, services needed to be more readily understandable and culturally relevant to all participants. Across Alaska, new and innovative ideas and approaches to criminal justice policy have surfaced with increasing frequency. Some of the many examples include restorative justice, tribal justice, electronic monitoring, culturally-relevant treatment programs, drug courts and mental health courts. To maximize the benefit from these ideas and to ensure that what emerges from them is a well-coordinated, effective criminal justice system tailored to meet Alaska's unique needs, broader collaboration and coordination of effort is needed. The Criminal Justice Assessment Commission, with its diverse array of members from across the criminal justice spectrum, offered such a vehicle.