Bismarck Tribune - North Dakota News - Senators push bill to fight Indian crime

Senators push bill to fight Indian crime

Jul 24, 2008 - 04:06:31 CDT

By MARY CLARE JALONICK
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - A bipartisan group of senators is hoping to fight high crime levels on American Indian reservations with legislation that would boost tribal law enforcement and improve coordination between federal and local authorities.

The bill, introduced Wednesday after months of consultation and hearings held by the senators, would encourage more aggressive federal prosecution of reservation crimes, enhance the sentencing authority of tribal courts and boost resources for investigating and prosecuting crimes of sexual violence.

"We are seeing crime levels on some Indian reservations reach epidemic proportions," said North Dakota Sen. Byron Dorgan, chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee and the lead sponsor on the bill. "It is difficult to overstate the problems."

He said that a 2007 report by the advocacy group Amnesty International was "the straw that broke the camel's back."

That report said American Indian women are more than twice as likely to be raped as other U.S. women. Suspects often go free because of unclear police jurisdictions and lack of adequate forensic capabilities on reservations, the report found.

According to the Indian Affairs panel, The United States declined to prosecute 62 percent of Indian country criminal cases referred to federal prosecutors between 2004 and 2007. Federal statistics have shown that American Indians are the victims of violent crime at 2.5 times the national rate, and rates of homicide and domestic are much higher than national averages.

Federal Bureau of Investigation reports showed that rates of all of those crimes doubled between 2005 and 2006, partly fueled by a raging methamphetamine epidemic on reservations and high rates of alcohol use.

The legislation introduced Wednesday would also attempt to increase accountability for law enforcement, requiring the Department of Justice to file reports to tribal justice officials that provide details about the cases the federal government declines to prosecute.

Amnesty International praised the bill.

"This legislation is a historic effort to tackle major jurisdictional challenges that allow crimes against Native American and Alaska Native peoples to flourish," said Larry Cox, executive director of the group.

Twelve members have co-sponsored the bill with Dorgan, including Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Pete Domenici, R-N.M., Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., Gordon Smith, R-Ore., Tim Johnson, D-S.D., Joe Biden, D-Del., Max Baucus, D-Mont., Jon Tester, D-Mont., Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., Maria Cantwell, D-Wash and Joe Lieberman, I-Conn.

"Indian country cannot become the Wild West of the Great Plains," Johnson said.

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Comments

been there wrote on Jul 25, 2008 4:12 AM:

" I've been there, seen it, e.g. girl is molested, prosecution and judge refuse to even hear the case, girl has nowhere else to live, is sent back home. Every week there are cases like this. Good old Standing Rock. If you live down there get out while you can. The place is just a meat grinder.
-will never go back "

busybusy wrote on Jul 24, 2008 9:48 PM:

" Why don't they use the money from the casino to fund this much needed law enforcement revamping. That way they have a vested interest in the outcome instead of just "free money" beign used "

just a thought wrote on Jul 24, 2008 8:03 PM:

" Before we jump all over the federal people declining to prosecute We should make sure we know why. As in all things legal, before a prosecuter takes on a case they have to have all their I's dotted and there t,s crossed. Is everything in order? Back a couple of decades ago the law enforcement on Standing Rock was under the control of the BIA. All police officers were federal government employees. As such they were required to be trained to know how to investigate and do all the subsequent paperwork that is necessary to successgully prosecute crimes. They were not perfect but we did not see things get to the point they have come to now. It is of no use to try to prosecute cases that will be thrown out or turned over on appeal because someone did not know how to do their jobs correctly. "

kev wrote on Jul 24, 2008 5:43 PM:

" The best way to destroy a culture is to give the people free money. "

jobs are few wrote on Jul 24, 2008 2:06 PM:

" THERE IS NOT ENOUGH JOBS ON THE RESERVATION FOR THE YOUTH AND ADULTS.LIKE SAID OVER AND OVER IT IS HOW WE TEACH OUR FAMILIES GROWINGUP. I MAY NOT BE THE BEST PARENT BUT I TEACH MY CHILDREN AT HOME. DONT FIGHT BE NICE TO ONE ANOTHER HELP SOMEONE IF THEY ARE IN NEED.AND FROM THIS ONE JUST LEFT TO THE ARMY.THE ONE AT HOME WILL FOLLOW AS HE SEES WHAT HE IS BEING TAUGHT.AND PRAYER HELPS PRAY DAILY IN YOUR HOMES.WE DO NOT NEED TO BE IN THE HEADLINES DAILY HOW CRIME IS SO TERRIBLE ON THE RESERVATIONS. "

HBIC wrote on Jul 24, 2008 12:42 PM:

" Good luck with all that....you'll need it! "

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