If You Can t Measure it, You Can t Effectively Manage It: Understanding Crime and Victimization on Tribal Lands U. S. Department of Justice 13 th National Indian Nations Conference: Justice for Victims of Crime (Public use extract) Agua Caliente Reservation, California December 6-8, 2012 Steven W. Perry, Statistician, Bureau of Justice Statistics Presentation outline Purpose American Indian and Alaska Native Demographics Legislation on crime and justice data sharing BJS literature review Triangulation of tribal justice system data Policy and Program Impact Q & A 2 1
3 American Indian & Alaska Native Population 4 2
American Indian Reservation & Alaska Native Village Population 5 Legislation on Tribal Crime and Justice Information Sharing According to Title 25, Indians, Part 12, Indians; as reported in 62 FR 15611, dated Apr. 2, 1997, in Subpart E Records and Information, under 12.41, Who keeps statistics for Indian country law enforcement activities, it states: The Director maintains a criminal justice information system for Indian country. These reports may be provided to the Department of Justice. Any law enforcement program receiving funding from the BIA must use the same reporting format and submit the same statistical reports to the Office of Law Enforcement Services as prescribed by the Director and as are required of all BIA law enforcement programs. Public Law 109-162, eligibility for the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program, requires use of the average annual number of Part I violent crimes reported to UCR for the three most recent years within the previous decade. The Violence Against Women Act and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005, calls for the Tracking of Violence against Indian Women. VAWA permits Indian law enforcement agencies to utilize federal criminal information databases in cases of domestic and dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. The Attorney General must contract with any Indian tribe, tribal organization or tribal nonprofit organization interested in developing a national tribal sex offender registry and a tribal protection order registry. The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, P.L. 109-248, requires tribal governments to affirmatively elect to maintain a sex offender registry; tribes will also be required to comply with the notification requirements and maintain a web site making sex offender registry information available to the public. 6 3
The Tribal Law and Order Act (TLOA) provides that the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is to: (1) Establish and implement a tribal data collection system; (2) Support tribal participation in national records and justice information systems; (3) Consult with Indian tribes to establish and implement this data collection system; and (4) Report to Congress annually the data collected and analyzed in accordance with the act. (P.L. 111-211, 124 Stat. 2258, 251(b)) 7 Tribal Entry/Input in Regional and National Databases Data Source Sponsor Purpose Tribal Participation UCR Summary Reporting Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) National crime estimates of offenses known to law enforcement agencies Voluntary UCR National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) FBI Detailed incident based data for offenses known to law enforcement agencies Voluntary NCIC Protection Order File FBI Registry of court order of protection from domestic and child abuse Voluntary Sex Offender Registry SMART/OJP Registry and notification of convicted sex offenders Adam Walsh National Instant Check System (NICS) FBI Registry of offenders prohibited from purchase of firearm Voluntary 8 4
Triangulation of tribal justice system data current, past, and historical estimates H i s t o r y Victims Arrests Justice agencies R e c e n t P a s T Justice Information systems Current data collections 9 Literature Review, 2004-2012 Arrests Victimization Jurisdictional variation in victimization Justice agencies in Indian country Jails and detention in Indian country Developing and sharing criminal history information for public safety purposes Tribal Crime Data Reporting Prosecutors offices with jurisdiction in Indian country 10 5
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19 about 175 tribes reported they operated a formal tribal court to provide their judicial and legal services 20 10
Tribal Justice System in the United States 21 2012 National Survey of Tribal Court Systems (NSTCS-12) The NSTCS will gather administrative and operational information about tribal court systems operating in the US, including data from courts, on prosecutors, and indigent defense providers, the number of courts, codes and statutes, staffing, budgets, case processing procedures and policies, data entry/ input systems, services offered through the courts, aggregate caseload information and other emerging court system issues. The goal of the NSTCS is to provide baseline information upon which to build a tribal court statistics infrastructure that will improve the nation s understanding of the organization and operational characteristics of courts in Indian country and in the development or expansion of their court systems. The information may be useful to tribes in their application for various crime prevention programs such as those described in the U.S. Department of Justice Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation at (www.tribaljusticeandsafety.gov). Additional information and updates available at: www.tribalcourtsurvey.org 22 11
www.tribalcourtsurvey.org 23 Benefits of the NSTCS A data collection designed and developed in consultation with tribal nations; Demonstrate funding and service needs for tribal courts; Demonstrate magnitude of tribal court work- or caseloads and spectrum of work; Provide a voice and educate federal government BIA, DOJ, and other agencies-- and public about the important work and effectiveness of tribal courts and justice system; Affirm the experience and sovereignty of tribal nations; Document the integrity of the tribal judicial process; Include tribes in the national dialogue on justice systems; Help the federal government fulfill the trust responsibility to Indian nations through the accurate and reliable information; and Authenticated source for tribal court statistics 24 12
What will the proposed NSTCS-12 ask about tribal courts systems? Tribal Justice Systems Court Administration Appellate Courts Court Operations Prosecution Public Defense and Civil Legal Services Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Enhanced Sentencing Authority Information System Access and Data Entry 25 26 13
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29 NSTCS program and policy impact Enrich tribal eligibility for justice program funding resources; prevention programs development; and justice services. CTAS GRANTS: Tribal Resources Grant Program - Improve public safety and enhance community policing capacity Indian Alcohol and Substance Abuse Prevention Program - Prevent and reduce alcohol and substance abuse-related crimes Tribal Courts Assistance Program - Develop and enhance the operation of Tribal justice systems Correctional Facilities on Tribal Lands Program - Plan, renovate or construct correctional and/or correctional alternative facilities Tribal Sexual Assault Services Program - Provide direct intervention and related assistance to victims of sexual assault Tribal Governments Program - Tribal Governments Program - TGP - Enhance responses to violence committed against Indian women and girls Tribal Elder Outreach Program - Provide community outreach and victim assistance services to address elder abuse Tribal Youth Program - Prevent and control delinquency and improve the juvenile justice system Tribal Juvenile Accountability Discretionary Program - Enhance accountability for delinquent behavior Tribal Youth Program - Develop new demonstration projects on violence prevention and rehabilitation 30 15
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Indian Country Justice Statistics Program U. S. Department of Justice Steven W. Perry, Statistician Prosecution and Adjudication Statistics Unit Bureau of Justice Statistics U.S. Department of Justice 810 Seventh Street, NW Washington, DC 20531 Phone: (202) 307-0777 Fax: (202) 616-1351 E-mail: Steven.W.Perry@usdoj.gov 33 17