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Indian Country Crime
Background
Indian Country Unit
Jurisdiction
Safe Trails Task Force
Indian Country Evidence Task Force
American Indian Art Theft
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Indian Country Home Page

Background

  • There are 562 federally recognized Indian Tribes in the United States and approximately 297 Indian Reservations. The FBI has federal law enforcement responsibility on more than 200 Indian Reservations. The role of the FBI in Indian Country (IC) is to develop and implement strategies and programs to address identified crime problems in IC for which the FBI has responsibility. The FBI has an additional responsibility to support the efforts of all law enforcement personnel working in IC.
  • The FBI derives its criminal jurisdiction in IC from the IC Crimes Act (18 U.S.C. 1152), The Major Crimes Act (18 U.S.C. 1153) and the Assimilative Crimes Act (18 U.S.C. 13). Also, by virtue of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) enacted in 1988, the FBI has federal criminal jurisdiction over acts directly related to casino gaming in IC gaming establishments, including those located on reservations under state criminal jurisdiction.
  • Thirty-two FBI Divisions have active IC programs, with fourteen Divisions accounting for the majority of IC investigations in the FBI. The top four Indian Country Field Divisions (Albuquerque, Minneapolis, Phoenix and Salt Lake City) accounted for 77 percent of all IC case initiations in FY2005.
  • The FBI currently has 114 Special Agents assigned to IC matters full-time and funds fifteen Safe Trails Task Forces (STTF) in IC to address violent crime, or identified crime problems that would normally go unaddressed if not for the existence of the STTF.
  • The priority of work for the FBI in Indian Country is:
    • Homicide/Death
    • Child Sexual/Physical Abuse
    • Violent Felony Assault (Adult Rape)
    • Drugs and Gangs
    • Corruption/Fraud Against Government/Theft of Tribal Funds
    • Gaming Violations
    • Property Crime

In the last three fiscal years the FBI has recorded the following statistics in Indian Country investigations (VC indicates violent crime cases which include Death Investigations, Felony Assault, Child Sexual Abuse/Physical Abuse, AFO, Interstate Domestic Violence, and Vehicular Homicide, Robbery and Rape):

  • Training Facts
    • Since 1997 the ICU has conducted integrated training with FBI, BIA-OLES, tribal, state, county and local LEOs.
    • In December 2003, FBI and BIA-OLES fully integrated all regional training efforts (personnel and resources) and moved to standardize all IC training curriculums.
    • In FY2005, over 1,000 IC LEOs, LE Support Personnel and Community Leaders were trained in FBI and BIA-OLES sponsored regional training.
  • In FY06 the FBI will offer the following training courses to Indian Country Law Enforcement Personnel
    • IC Basic Course
    • Law Enforcement Training for Safety and Survival (LETSS)
    • Crime Scene Management/Crime Scene Processing
    • Child Sexual Abuse/Physical Abuse Training
    • Child Homicide
    • Stress Management
    • Indian Gaming Investigations
    • Interviewing and Interrogation
    • IC Management Conference
    • First Responder Course
    • Forensic Interviewing
    • Critical Incident Response
    • NNALEA Training
    • Contract Training (specialized topics)
    • Local Training (as requested)
  • The role of the FBI’s Indian Country/ Special Jurisdiction Unit is to provide:
    • National Program Management for the FBI’s IC Program
    • Special Funding for IC investigations
    • Personnel Resource Allocation
    • Training of IC Law Enforcement Officers
    • IC Task Force Oversight (15)
    • Crime Problem Identification
    • Policy Development
    • Equipment Procurement
    • Special Projects/Initiatives
    • Liaison
    • Liaison with Indian Country Evidence Task Force (FBI Laboratory)
    • Oversight of the Indian Gaming Working Group (IGW)