Last week, the Justice Department announced the posting of the Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS), a comprehensive grant solicitation to support improvements to public safety, victim services and crime prevention in American Indian and Alaska Native communities.

More than $101.4 million is available through the 2012 CTAS.  This year, funding can be used to conduct comprehensive planning, enhance law enforcement, bolster justice systems, support and enhance tribal efforts to prevent and control juvenile delinquency and strengthen the juvenile justice system, prevent youth substance abuse, serve victims of crimes like domestic violence and sexual assault, as well as support other crime-fighting efforts. 

CTAS is a critical part of the Justice Department’s ongoing initiative to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in tribal communities. This is the third year for CTAS, which provides tribal governments and tribal consortia with a single application to reach all of the department’s grant-making components, including the Office of Justice Programs, the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, and the Office on Violence Against Women. It allows these grant-making components to assess the totality of the public safety needs of each tribe or tribal consortia. The FY 2012 CTAS reflects improvements developed as a result of tribal consultations, listening sessions, and other feedback.  

Commenting on the announcement, Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli said:

 “We are committed to helping strengthen and sustain safe and healthy American Indian and Alaska Native communities with a funding process that is responsive and coordinated. This effort to streamline the grant application process, with multiple purpose areas, offers tribes and tribal consortia an opportunity to develop a comprehensive and community-based approach to public safety and support for victims.”

The Community Partnerships Grants Management System will begin accepting electronic applications on Monday, January 23, 2012. The deadline for submitting applications is 9:00 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, April 18, 2012.

For more information on the department’s efforts to strengthen public safety in American Indian and Alaska Native communities, visit the Tribal Justice and Safety website at www.justice.gov/tribal or download the Fact Sheet on the FY 2012 CTAS (PDF).

The following post appears courtesy of the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana.

Earlier this month, U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana, Michael W. Cotter, announced the creation of a new initiative, the Native Shield Initiative, in partnership with tribal and county authorities in Montana. The initiative is designed to help protect Indian women from physical and sexual violence.

As Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli testified this month to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs:

“Violence against Native women has reached epidemic rates. One regional survey conducted by University of Oklahoma researchers showed that nearly three out of five Native American women had been assaulted by their spouses or intimate partners. According to a nationwide survey funded by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), one third of all American Indian women will be raped during their lifetimes. And an NIJ-funded analysis of death certificates found that, on some reservations, Native women are murdered at a rate more than ten times the national average. Tribal leaders, police officers and prosecutors tell us of an all-too-familiar pattern of escalating violence that goes unaddressed, with beating after beating, each more severe than the last, ultimately leading to death or severe physical injury. Something must be done to address this cycle of violence.”

That’s why the Department of Justice has proposed legislation and supported the efforts of Congress to close major legal gaps, involving tribal criminal jurisdiction, tribal civil jurisdiction and federal criminal offenses.

U.S. Attorney’s Offices with Indian country jurisdiction know that victims cannot afford to wait for new laws or more resources to come to the rescue. Each day, U.S. Attorneys are using existing federal laws to address violence against Indian women and to arrest the pattern of escalation in domestic assaults that too often leads to serious injury or death.

Montana’s new initiative is designed to use existing federal statutes and jurisdiction to prosecute misdemeanor domestic assaults committed by a non-Indian perpetrator against an Indian victim. The Initiative also promotes prosecutions of habitual domestic violence offenders under 18 U.S.C. § 117, which can lead to substantial sentences in federal prison if a defendant already has at least two prior federal, state, or tribal convictions for an assault, sexual abuse or serious violent felony committed against a spouse or intimate partner.

U.S. Attorney Michael W. Cotter announced the Native Shield Initiative, saying:

“When law enforcement entities work together we can hold criminals accountable and assure that no perpetrator can hide from the law.”

In support of the Native Shield Initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will provide training to tribal and county law enforcement partners on how to submit misdemeanor domestic violence cases to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the investigation and prosecution of crimes against women, and how collaborative agreements between tribal and county law enforcement may also help protect Indian women from violence. Montana’s Native Shield Initiative is one example of many ongoing efforts by U.S. Attorneys Offices around the country to deploy existing federal laws, as well as law enforcement resources, coordination, and training to try and reduce the unacceptable level of violence against women in Indian country.

In line with Attorney General Holder’s commitment to enhancing public safety in Indian Country, Assistant Attorney General Tom Perrelli announced grants totaling $118.4 million to support law enforcement practices and sustain crime prevention and intervention efforts.

Tribal governments received awards in areas including public safety and community policing; methamphetamine enforcement; justice systems and alcohol and substance abuse; corrections and correctional alternatives; violence against women; elder abuse; juvenile justice; and tribal youth programs. 

“This year, we encouraged comprehensive safety planning– because we know innovative and holistic approaches work,” said Perrelli, who made the announcement at the department’s Four Corners Indian Conference in Ignacio, Colorado.

Perrelli also spoke about the department’s streamlined grant application for federal funding.  Now in its second year, the Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS) serves as a single application for existing tribal government-specific grant programs administered by the Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs  (OJP), Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), and the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW).

Through consultations and listening sessions tribes expressed a desire for a less cumbersome and flexible application system for grant funding. CTAS does both. The effort has been held up as an example of how federal coordination can better meet the critical needs of tribal nations.

Perrelli told the group:

“Our government-to-goverment consultations have been critical to our understanding of how to better serve and support our tribal partners. By deepening our engagement with tribal governments, we have sought to help put an end to the unacceptable and sobering crime rates witnessed in Indian Country.”

In the past two and a half years of the Obama administration, the Justice Department has taken a number of steps to deepen its commitment to Indian nations and to develop more effective partnerships with tribal leaders, police, prosecutors, courts and advocates to address and combat crime.

To learn more about the department’s efforts, visit justice.gov/tribal.

The following post appears courtesy of Associate Attorney General Thomas Perrelli.  

Today marks the one year anniversary of the Tribal Law & Order Act (TLOA), an historic piece of legislation signed into law by President Obama on July 29, 2010. That anniversary represents an important moment to reflect on the work that has been done to address the crisis of the public safety in tribal communities and to recognize how much work remains to be done.

To offer just a snapshot of what’s at stake, studies show that nearly three out of five Native American women had been assaulted by their spouses or intimate partners and one third of all American Indian women will be raped during their lifetimes. We also know that, on some reservations, Native women are murdered at a rate more than ten times the national average. Tribal leaders, police officers, and prosecutors tell us of an all-too-familiar pattern of escalating violence that goes unaddressed, with beating after beating, each more severe than the last, ultimately leading to death or severe physical injury.

With these sobering statistics in mind, soon after he came into office, Attorney General Eric Holder identified building and sustaining safe and secure tribal communities as one of the Department of Justice’s top priorities—in line with his key goals of addressing violent crime and protecting our nation’s most vulnerable. In June of 2009, the Department launched a wide-ranging initiative to strengthen public safety in Indian Country. Since that time, the Department has taken a number of steps to deepen its commitment to tribal communities and to develop more effective partnership with tribal leaders, police, prosecutors, courts, and advocates to combat crime in tribal communities.

All U.S. Attorneys with Indian Country jurisdiction were directed to consult with tribes and develop specific operational plans to address public safety in tribal communities, and to ensure that the prosecution of crimes against Indian women and children is a priority. They were also directed to increase communication and develop new partnerships with tribal prosecutors and courts. The Attorney General created a Violence Against Women Federal and Tribal Prosecution Task Force to better coordinate efforts between the Department and tribal governments and to recommend best practices in ending the scourge of domestic violence. And this week, Attorney General Holder, 30 U.S. Attorneys, and other administration officials met in Rapid City and on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota to engage in listening sessions with tribal leaders and hear from advocates in the fields of tribal safety and domestic violence.

The Justice Department has also directed an unprecedented increase in personnel to fight Indian Country crime. Today there are more federal prosecutors and victim specialists working in Indian Country than ever before. In the past two years, in addition to the dedicated professionals already working in Indian Country, the Department has deployed 28 new Assistant U.S. Attorneys to prosecute violent crimes in Indian Country, and the FBI has deployed 9 new investigators and 12 new victim advocates into areas where victim services are needed most.

Finally, the Department is engaging tribal youth in the areas of healthy relationships and lifestyles, education, substance and alcohol abuse, cultural preservation, community development and protecting the environment–in an effort to have lasting effects on families and communities. This week, the Department is hosting the National Intertribal Youth Summit in Santa Fe, NM to provide an opportunity for Obama administration officials to hear directly from 175 young men and women from nearly 50 tribes in Indian Country.

Without question, however, enactment of the TLOA has been a major step in our efforts to combat crime in Indian Country. The TLOA brought long overdue reforms that will over time further empower tribal governments, and strengthen their ability to keep neighborhoods safe and hold criminals accountable. At the same time, the law placed new obligations on the federal government to work in partnership with tribal authorities to address public safety for American Indians and Alaska Natives.

The Department of Justice embraces those responsibilities and is working hard to implement all of the TLOA’s provisions. But even after the TLOA is fully implemented, we must recognize that there is and will remain much work left to be done to make tribal communities safe and secure. The TLOA was landmark legislation, but it cannot be the end of our efforts. For that reason, in addition to all of the many investments that the Department is making in Indian Country, it is also advocating for more tools to address a problem that tribal leaders across the country have identified as a top priority – ending the scourge of domestic violence.

Last week, the Obama Administration unveiled a new proposal for legislation to combat the epidemic rates of violence against Native women in Indian Country. The proposed legislation offers a broader set of tools for Federal and tribal law enforcement agencies to hold perpetrators of domestic violence accountable for their crimes. It builds on the philosophy of the TLOA by recognizing that tribal authorities, in collaboration with their federal partners, are best able to address crime in their communities if they are given the tools and resources needed to do it.

We look forward to working with tribal leaders and Congress on this legislation. In spite of the work of many dedicated people in the law enforcement and support services communities, there are still victims of crime who are afraid to raise their voices, and many law enforcement agencies without sufficient resources to meet existing challenges. As we celebrate this first year since TLOA’s passage, we are reminded of the great need that still remains, and we renew our commitment to finally end the public safety crisis facing American Indians and Alaska Natives.

For more information about The Department of Justice’s commitment to Indian Country, visit TribalJusticeandSafety.gov

This afternoon, Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli testified before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, to strongly recommend legal reforms that would significantly improve the safety of women in tribal communities and allow Federal and tribal law-enforcement agencies to hold more perpetrators of domestic violence accountable for their crimes.

At the hearing, entitled “Native Women: Protecting, Shielding, and Safeguarding our Sisters, Mothers, and Daughters,” Associate Attorney General Perrelli spoke to the epidemic rates of violence against Native American women in Indian country and the department’s commitment to enhancing legal protections for them. He cited research revealing that one-third of these women will be raped during their lifetimes, and nearly 3 out of 5 Native American women have been assaulted by their spouses or intimate partners.

Shedding light on the limitations of the current legal system in prosecuting violence against women in Indian country, Associate Attorney General Perrelli explained that the current structure is not well-suited to handling these patterns of escalating violence:

“Federal resources, which are often the only ones that can investigate and prosecute these crimes, are often far away and stretched thin. Tribal governments — police, prosecutors, and courts — should be essential parts of the response to these crimes; but under current law, they lack the authority to address many of these crimes.  Until recently, no matter how violent the offense, tribal courts could only sentence Indian offenders to one year in prison. And, research shows that law enforcement’s failure to arrest and prosecute abusers both emboldens attackers and deters victims from reporting future incidents. In short, the jurisdictional framework has left many serious acts of domestic violence and dating violence unprosecuted and unpunished.”

The Justice Department is already working to combat such inefficiencies.

We have deployed 28 new Assistant U.S. Attorneys whose sole mission is to prosecute crime in Indian country, instructed U.S. Attorneys to prioritize the prosecution of crimes against Indian women and children, established new domestic-violence training programs for law enforcement officials, and created a Violence Against Women Federal-Tribal Prosecution Task Force.

Yet, as Associate Attorney General Perrelli told the Senate Committee, there are areas ripe for legislative reform. These include:

• The lack of recognition of certain tribes’ power to exercise concurrent criminal jurisdiction over domestic violence cases, regardless of whether the defendant is Indian or non-Indian.  
• The lack of civil jurisdiction to issue and enforce protection orders against Indians and non-Indians throughout Indian country.  
• The lack of the necessary statutory tools in the hands of Federal prosecutors to combat domestic violence in Indian country.

Removing these legal roadblocks will improve public safety for women in tribal communities and allow federal and tribal law enforcement and prosecutors to hold many more perpetrators of domestic or dating violence accountable for their crimes.

Read Associate Attorney General Perrelli’s full testimony or visit tribaljusticeandsafety.gov for more information.

 The Justice Department commemorated Anti-Violence Strategy month in June, with events across the nation, to spotlight and unveil effective strategies and initiatives to combat violence.  Attorney General Eric Holder spoke to Cleveland Defending Childhood Initiative team members at a violent crime prevention event sponsored by Stand Together Against Neighborhood Crime Everyday on June 28, 2011.

At the event, Attorney General Holder stated:

“Whether you work to shape policy; to examine and identify the most pressing local public safety challenges; to develop and implement successful prevention, intervention, and reentry programs; to reach out to young people and families who are in need and at risk; or to advance enforcement efforts and policing strategies – your contributions are essential.”

Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli kicked off the month in Roanoke, Va., on June 9, 2011, at a roundtable discussion with community partners and U.S. Attorney Tim Heaphy of the Western District of Virginia.  Perrelli highlighted the department’s continued commitment to crime prevention initiatives and prisoner re-entry support programs as a means of reducing recidivism rates and crimes committed by youth, noting:

“At the Department of Justice, we are investing in more effective enforcement strategies, but we are also investing in communities across the country in proven strategies for preventing crime, in particular for reaching vulnerable young people before they commit crimes or when they begin going down the wrong path, and we are also investing in providing a transition for individuals coming out of prison, what we call reentry, because if we can reduce the recidivism rate, we can also reduce crime. ”

On June 17, 2011, Assistant Attorney General Laurie Robinson of the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) reinforced the department’s support of gang prevention programs and acknowledged the role gangs play in perpetuating violent crime among youth.  Speaking at the grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony of the Greenville Neighborhood Center in Charlotte, N.C., Robinson offered her support of the center, a new neighborhood facility for a group called Gang of One. Operated by the Mecklenburg County, N.C., Police Department, in partnership with local agencies, citizens and law enforcement, and funded partially by OJP grants, Gang of One helps to prevent youth from joining gangs in the Charlotte-metro area.

On June 16, 2011, Principal Deputy Attorney General Mary Lou Leary observed a Project Safe Neighborhood Probation and Parole Reentry Education Program session in Oklahoma City with U.S. Attorney Sandy Coats at which several federal, local agency partners and social service providers spoke on prisoner re-entry and post-incarceration/probation and parole services.  Principal Deputy Attorney General Leary also joined U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman for an anti-violence strategy event at the Project Safe Neighborhood Anti-Gang Training Conference in New Brunswick, N.J.

Other U.S. Attorneys will be hosting Anti-Violence strategy events across the country in their communities and Indian country with federal, state, local and tribal partners. Find your local U.S. Attorney office for more information on events in your community.