Crime-Reduction Best Practices Handbook: Making Indian Communities Safe 2012 (PDF)
This publication is based on the Office of Justice Services' successful deployment of its 2010 High Priority Performance Goal initiative aimed at the reduction of violent crime by at least five percent over 24 months on four reservations experiencing high rates of violent crime: Rocky Boy's in Montana, Mescalero in New Mexico, Wind River in Wyoming, and Standing Rock in North and South Dakota. The effort resulted in a 35 percent decrease in violent crime across the four sites, achieved by implementing a comprehensive strategy involving community policing, tactical deployment and critical interagency and intergovernmental partnerships. The handbook is a compendium of best practices from that strategy intended to guide law enforcement entities in Indian Country. It includes strategies that worked and those that didn't, and the information it offers ranges from general approaches to details necessary to implement specific crime-reduction plans.
2011 National Intertribal Youth Summit Final Report (PDF)
The 2011 National Intertribal Youth Summit was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in partnership with the Executive Office of the President, the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Justice, Labor, and the Corporation for National & Community Service. It was held in Santa Fe, New Mexico, from July 24 - July 29, 2011. The Summit entitled “Youth Taking Action in Indian Country,” was attended by more than 160 youth, representing nearly 50 tribes who gathered together for a week of leadership development and skill building. This report highlights the youth and tribal participation, the programming and activities they participated in, and the issues that were tackled during the summit.
October 2011 Department of Justice Report on Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs in Indian Country (PDF)
Information on the Radiation Exposure Compensation Program
Find information about different claimant categories outlined in the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), which offers monetary compensation to individuals who contracted certain cancers and other serious diseases following their exposure to radiation released during above-ground atmospheric nuclear weapons tests or, following their occupational exposure to radiation while employed in the uranium industry during the build-up to the Cold War.
Violence Against Women in Indian Country Task Force
Find information about the Attorney General's task force established to assist the National Institute of Justice to develop and implement a program of research on violence against Indian women, including domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and murder. The task force will evaluate the effectiveness of the Federal, state, and tribal response to violence against Indian women, and will propose recommendations to improve the government response.
The National Criminal Justice Research Center is a federally-funded resource offering justice and substance abuse information to support research, policy, and program development worldwide. This list of publications and resources may be of particular interest to tribes.
The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice is responsible for enforcing Federal statutes that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, and religion. This list of areas of the Civil Rights Division's enforcement programs may be of particular interest to American Indians and Alaska Natives.
Victims Assistance from The Office for Victims of Crimes
The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) was established by the 1984 Victims of Crime Act to oversee diverse programs that benefit victims of crime. The Office for Victims of Crime provides direct services to people victimized on Tribal or Federal lands, such as military bases and national parks, and American citizens victimized in foreign countries.
OVC also assists victims of crime by providing: emergency funds for federal criminal justice agencies to provide victims of federal crimes with needed services when these services are otherwise unavailable, grants for victim assistance programs in Indian Country, and information, benefits, and services for U.S. nationals who are victims of terrorism abroad. Victims are given assistance in accessing services, traveling to participate in trials and briefings, and obtaining information on the criminal justice process.
Research on Tribal Crime and Justice from the National Institute of Justice
The National Institute of Justice is the research, development and evaluation agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. This Web page provides an overview of research that has been made available that relates specifically to Tribal crime and justice.
Information on Tribal Law Enforcement from the Bureau of Justice Statistics
Tribally operated agencies provide a broad range of public safety services such as responding to calls for service, engaging in crime prevention activities, executing arrest warrants, performing traffic law enforcement, serving court papers, providing court security, and carrying out in search and rescue operations. Findings are based on the 2002 Census of Tribal Justice Agencies in American Indian Jurisdictions and the Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, 2000.
Strategies for Creating Offender Reentry Programs in Indian Country
This publication abstract highlights promising practices and strategies for adults and juveniles transitioning from incarceration back into tribal communities.
Deputy Attorney General Memo on Public Safety Reform in Indian Country
Former Deputy Attorney General David W. Ogden's memo, dated on January 11, 2010, addresses U.S. Attorneys with districts containing Indian Country. The memo emphasizes the Justice Department's commitment to increasing public safety and upholding the rule of law on tribal land.
This report, from the Southwest Center for Law and Policy, provides information about sex offender registration and notification in Indian Country, including ways for federal, state and tribal governments to improve coordination and increase safety on reservations.
2008 Final Report on Creative Civil Remedies Against Non-Indian Offenders In Indian Country (PDF)
This report, from the Southwest Center for Law and Policy, discusses jurisdictional issues between federal, state and tribal courts, and recommends how different courts can work cooperatively to keep Indian Country safe for Indians and Non-Indians alike.
This report, from the Southwest Center for Law and Policy, is a resource for prosecutors in Indian Country on how to recognize, investigate and prosecute sexual assault cases on tribal land.
Resource Guide for Drafting or Revising Tribal Law Against Domestic Violence (PDF)
This paper, from the Tribal Law and and Policy Institute, addresses the high rates of domestic violence against tribal women and provides a starting point for drafting or revising tribal laws on domestic violence in Indian Country.
Final Report: Sexual Assault of Native Women- Focus Group on Public Law 280 (PDF)
This report chronicles a focus group hosted by the Office on Violence Against Women on the Oneida Indian Reservation in Wisconsin in 2007. The conference discussed challenges to, and opportunities for, collaboration between states and tribes in Public Law 280 jurisdictions to address sexual assault in Indian country.
This report outlines the Department's plan of actions for developing a consultation and coordination policy that not only implements Executive Order 13175, but identifies other ways in which the Department shall ensure ongoing and effective communication and coordination with tribes.
Tribal Nations Leadership Council Charter (PDF)
The TNLC will serve to facilitate dialog and coordinate efforts between the Department of Justice and tribal governments, furthering the government-to-government relationship between the United States and tribal nations.
Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation Quick Facts (PDF)
Deputy Attorney General Memo on Public Safety Reform in Indian Country
2008 Final Report on Creative Civil Remedies Against Non-Indian Offenders In Indian Country (PDF)
Resource Guide for Drafting or Revising Tribal Law Against Domestic Violence (PDF)
Final Report: Sexual Assault of Native Women- Focus Group on Public Law 280 (PDF)
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