DORGAN INTRODUCES LEGISLATION AIMED AT GIVING BOOST TO LAW & ORDER IN INDIAN COUNTRY

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

CONTACT: Justin Kitsch
or  Brenden Timpe
PHONE: 202-224-2551

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Senate Indian Affairs Committee Chairman Byron Dorgan (D-ND) introduced bipartisan legislation, called the Tribal Law and Order Act, to fight staggering crime levels in Indian Country. Twelve of his colleagues have joined as co-sponsors of the bill. The legislation is designed to boost law enforcement efforts by providing tools to tribal justice officials to fight crime in their own communities, improving coordination between law enforcement agencies, and increasing accountability standards.

The legislation is Dorgan’s next step in his fight against high crime rates in American Indian communities. Earlier this year, he organized a request from the North Dakota and South Dakota congressional delegations for more law enforcement resources on the Standing Rock Reservation. In response, the BIA announced an initiative called “Operation Dakota Peacekeeper,” which transferred 20 full-time officers to serve Standing Rock. Officials have reported that arrests have increased and crime on the reservation has dropped.

In North Dakota, the violent crime rate on the Spirit Lake Nation is seven times the national average, and violent crime on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation is 5.5 times the national average.

“We are seeing crime levels on some Indian reservations reach epidemic proportions. Studies predict that more than one in three Native American women will be raped in their lifetimes, and two in five will be victims of physical abuse. Drug traffickers are targeting Indian Reservations as safe havens because of the lack of police presence and the disjointed system of justice that is in place,” said Dorgan, who has held five hearings on this issue.

“Clearly, we can’t solve this problem overnight, but this legislation is a big step in fighting violent crime on Indian reservations. American Indians deserve to feel safe in their homes, and safe in their communities.”

Dorgan’s legislation aims to improve law and order efforts by:

• Enhancing coordination between the Department of Justice, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and tribal communities about the investigation and prosecution of Indian country crimes.

• Encouraging more aggressive prosecution of reservation crimes at the federal level. Between 2004 and 2007, the United States declined to prosecute 62 percent of Indian country criminal cases referred to federal prosecutors.

• Enhancing the sentencing authority of tribal courts to punish offenders with up to three years imprisonment. Current law limits tribal court sentencing authority to no more than one year

• Expanding programs that authorize tribal police to make arrests for all crimes committed on Indian lands, and that provide direct access to national crime databases to arm police with vital criminal history information about suspects.

• Investing in existing programs meant to improve courts, jails, youth programs, and policing efforts in Indian Country.

• Addressing the epidemic of domestic violence and sexual assault in Indian Country by enhancing training and coordination to aid the investigation and prosecution of crimes of sexual violence.

“It is difficult to overstate the problems facing Indian Country on the matter of law and order,” said Dorgan. “We need more law enforcement, better facilities, improved coordination, and additional accountability at the state, federal and tribal levels. I will be pushing the Senate to take quick action on this vitally important piece of legislation.”

Joining Dorgan as co-sponsors to this legislation are Senators Murkowski, Biden, Domenici, Baucus, Bingaman, Lieberman, Kyl, Johnson, Smith, Cantwell, Thune, Tester.

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