U.S. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-SD) and John Thune (R-SD) have requested that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) examine the contributing factors to a public safety crisis that’s occurring in Indian Country.
The senators want to learn about how the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Office of Justice Services (OJS) responds to significant increases in crime and law enforcement personnel shortages, according to a Feb. 28 letter they sent to Comptroller General Gene Dodaro.
“In the last two years, tribal leaders on the Great Plains have reported a significant increase in violent and drug-related crime. Law enforcement leaders in Indian Country directly attribute the recent uptick in crime to police personnel shortages,” wrote Sens. Rounds and Thune. “Consequently, criminal entities are directly targeting reservation communities and distributing higher volumes of illegal drugs.”
In an effort to improve law enforcement services in reservation communities, the senators noted that tribal law enforcement leaders have begun to closely examine BIA budgetary practices, but while the agency does consider several factors when allocating appropriated funding, it’s unclear if BIA has set procedures for responding to public safety emergencies.
“Moreover, there are a number of other unanswered questions related to the funding of tribal law enforcement,” they wrote.
The senators requested that GAO examine specific issues and provide responses to several questions, including whether the number of tribal law enforcement personnel in Indian Country has increased in the last 20 years; how many law enforcement positions remain unfilled at tribally controlled and direct service departments; and if the BIA OJS sets aside resources for public safety emergencies and reports on the distribution of carryover funding to individual tribal law enforcement agencies, among others.