Policing is flawed on tribal land, feds say

An audit issued Thursday by Justice Department inspectors says Indian nations are being short-changed on crime fighting because federal agents, prosecutors and tribal police have failed to develop a coordinated system mandated by Congress.

The DOJ Office of Inspector General review says the failure to establish an overall plan or controlling agency for law enforcement has created a “lack of DOJ-level accountability.” As a result, tribes and their members deal with crimes that are not properly investigated or prosecuted, and victims go unprotected.

Inspectors found that U.S. Attorney offices do not have a uniform system for working with tribes or consistently share information about criminal cases. They also said prosecutors and federal agents assigned to Indian country are overburdened and lack adequate training.

Auditors reviewed criminal justice on 11 Indian reservations for their report. Three of those — the Navajo Nation, Gila River Indian Community and Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community — are in Arizona.

Cosme Lopez, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Arizona, declined to comment on the report.

There are 567 federally recognized tribes in the United States — 21 in Arizona — with 326 reservations.

Native Americans are victimized by violent crime at more than twice the rate of non-Indian groups, and onethird of all indigenous women are raped during their lifetimes. Crime rates and policing problems are compounded on reservations by socio-economic conditions, substance abuse and convoluted rules of criminal justice.

Under federal law and U.S. Supreme Court decisions, law enforcement for Indian nations involves complex procedures that vary depending on cir-

cumstances.

Lesser crimes typically are investigated by tribal police and prosecuted in tribal courts.

However, major felonies such as murder, rape and drug trafficking are investigated by the FBI or Bureau of Indian Affairs agents, and prosecuted in U.S. courts by the federal prosecutors.

The Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010 mandated better communication, training and data collection among agencies and native nations. But auditors found coordination remains flawed, prosecutors don’t consistently share information with tribes and DOJ has not carried out adequate reforms.

The report contains 14 recommendations, including policy and organizational changes, a uniform crime-tracking method and improved training.