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Dead Constitution See other Dead Constitution Articles Title: Poor justice on Arizona Indian reservations allows crime to run rampant Poor justice on Arizona Indian reservations allows crime to run rampant by Dennis Wagner - Sept. 13, 2010 12:00 AM The Arizona Republic In the face of traumatic poverty, substance abuse, unemployment, disease and extreme suicide rates on Indian reservations, federal laws and policies can work against efforts to improve public safety. Convoluted jurisdictional boundaries, insufficient funds for training, and distrust and limited communication between federal and tribal investigators have so hindered the execution of justice on reservations that crime can run rampant. Native American women suffer from violent crime at a rate 2 1/2 times the national average. More than one-third are raped during their lifetimes, according to the Department of Justice, compared with a national figure of one in five. Whiteriver serial rapist case Every few years, a new congressional report documents systemic breakdowns in Indian justice that begin with three agencies responsible for controlling reservation crime: the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the FBI and tribal police. And still nothing changes. In his first year at the White House, President Barack Obama promised to repair the broken justice system in Indian country. And he appears to be offering substance along with speeches: • He appointed Native Americans to key posts and ordered Cabinet secretaries to conduct "listening sessions" with tribal leaders. He requested $449 million for tribal public-safety programs and authorized more FBI victim specialists, BIA investigators and federal prosecutors to fight Native crime. • Obama signed the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010, a measure he promoted to increase authority of Indian police and allow Native courts to issue felony sentences of up to three years. The measure, signed in July, requires training in sexual-assault cases for Indian law officers. Federal agents and attorneys are now obliged to share evidence with tribal justice officials. • Obama also issued a mandate, along with Attorney General Eric Holder, that U.S. attorneys visit Indian country regularly to meet with tribal leaders and develop operational plans. The goal: better law enforcement and more prosecutions, especially in cases of violence against women and children. Dennis Burke, the U.S. attorney for Arizona, said communications are paying off. After learning about problems with rape cases on the Navajo Reservation, he sent a letter in June to health officials there requesting records of every incident reported to tribal medical workers during the previous 18 months. In the letter, Burke vows to ensure that "all provable sex assault offenses in Indian country are prosecuted." 'Botched' system An unsolved rape spree on Arizona's Fort Apache Reservation illustrates what U.S. Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs, calls a "crisis" of flawed law enforcement. Here is what happened: A rapist posing as a police officer preyed on Apache teenagers for nearly two years before Bureau of Indian Affairs agents and tribal police warned the town of Whiteriver and launched a serious investigation. They arrested several suspects and claimed the case was solved. The suspects were exonerated, and now they are suing on a claim of false arrest. Victims saw no justice. The real perpetrator got away with as many as 17 sexual assaults. Experts say the investigation in Whiteriver reflects the flawed state of criminal justice on Indian reservations across America, caused by jurisdictional conflicts, a shortage of law enforcement, poor pay and inadequate training. Burke, who was not in office during the investigation, would not discuss the case. But he said Arizona's 22 Native American tribes are seeing a new, improved public-safety system, with more law-enforcement agents and federal attorneys assigned to go after reservation criminals. "Never in the history of the Justice Department have five prosecutors been allocated at one time exclusively for cases in Indian country," Burke said. "That ain't lip service. . . . I'll have 19 prosecutors in my office" dedicated to criminal justice on reservation. "I mean, that's stunning." There is no single justice system for Indian country, instead a patchwork of agencies and jurisdictions. Major felonies are automatically federal matters, as are all crimes where the victim or suspect is non-Indian. Some tribes operate their own police departments under compacts with the BIA. Others rely on federal agents or state peace officers. Ronet Bachman, a professor of sociology and criminal justice at the University of Delaware who analyzed Indian rape data for the DOJ two years ago, said confusion and enforcement shortcomings allow repeat offenders. Asked if the failure is due to poor training, jurisdictional issues, a lack of resources, mismanagement, complacency or incompetence, Bachman said, "It is botched because of all those things." Steps taken For years, Native American leaders have criticized the federal justice system on tribal lands, complaining that investigations of major crimes against Indians are often cursory. Even when FBI and Bureau of Indian Affairs agents refer cases to U.S. attorneys for prosecution, matters often get dropped without explanation or for a lack of evidence. "When I came into this office, there were these cases literally sitting there for months and months without a decision," Burke said. "And then we would send a one-sentence letter why we're declining to file. . . . I was hearing all these tribal prosecutors saying, 'We want to know why this murderer is walking around in our community.' " In December, three months after his appointment, Burke imposed a new policy: Within 30 days of a criminal referral in tribal communities, his office must decide whether to reject a case, press charges or request further investigation. When a decision is made not to prosecute, U.S. attorneys in his office must issue written explanations and provide case files so that tribal prosecutors can pursue cases in Indian courts. "I am cautiously optimistic," said Ada Pecos Melton, president of American Indian Development Associates, an Albuquerque company that teaches tribes to combat victimization. "Put your money where your mouth is. To me, that's the biggest indicator of whether the Obama administration is being true." More to do Native American justice advocates, including Hallie Bongar White, executive director of the Southwest Center for Law and Policy in Tucson, said there is restrained belief that Washington, D.C., may finally offer more than lip service. "There is a difference in the Obama administration," said Bongar White, noting that White House rhetoric already has been backed with new funding, programs and appointments. "I see them moving a little bit more to provide resources and listening more to Native nations." Bongar White, whose non-profit group provides legal training to tribal communities, said the change is beginning to show. The Tohono O'odham Nation in southern Arizona recently received money for rape-victim advocates. This spring, she taught tribal police in New Mexico the protocols of rape investigations. Sexual-assault response teams are forming across Indian country. Kim Pound, former police chief at the Fort Apache Reservation, said Congress appropriated money for tribes in the past but it didn't always seem to filter down. There were exceptions, though. Pound said he managed to increase officer salaries in Whiteriver (from starting pay of $14 per hour to $19), purchase crime-scene kits and raise professional standards. Still, he can't help being skeptical. "Stuff that happens in Indian country, if it occurred in any town or city of this country, people would be up in arms," Pound said. "But they don't care." Everette Little Whiteman, police chief for the Oglala Sioux Tribe and a former BIA agent in Arizona, said it will take years to break the cycle of victimization. "The problem is that crimes are not investigated thoroughly. . . . We need money," he said. Paul Charlton, an outspoken advocate for tribal-justice reform and a former U.S. attorney for Arizona, said Obama has made a start but a paradigm shift is needed before law and order will succeed in Native communities. "This is a system that has been in place since the late 1880s, and it's not working," Charlton said. "The idea that the federal government should be responsible for crimes in Indian country is something that has to be changed." Arizona focus Burke said the Justice Department is cross-deputizing tribal prosecutors as federal lawyers to increase the number of cases pursued and is training Native American police so they can conduct federal felony investigations. In the past year, nearly 350 tribal officers in Arizona completed a certification course. Burke said Navajo and Tohono O'odham police already are conducting felony investigations, no longer relying on federal agents. The San Carlos Apache Tribe, isolated east of Globe, struggled with a different problem. FBI agents historically do not respond to crimes there, and no BIA agents were based on the reservation. According to a draft of the U.S. attorney's operation plan, the result was a period of months with no felony investigations on a reservation with serious crime. After Burke sent a letter to BIA administrators, the operation plan says, eight agents were sent to handle the backlog, and four are permanently assigned. Burke said he views Arizona as ground zero in the campaign to improve public safety in tribal communities. "There are more Native Americans living in our district than anywhere else in the country," he said. "If the Obama administration and (Attorney General) Eric Holder are saying Native American outreach is a priority, you've got to talk about it in Arizona." Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/09/13/20100913arizona-indian-reservation-crime.html#ixzz0zQkpd8xe
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#1. To: All (#0)
can you imagine living in a community where rapists and murderers are allowed to walk around without being prosecuted simply because government doesn't provide the resources to do the job? I'll refer to the 'Indians' as native americans becuase that is the way that many of them prefer to be referred to. If you say that word 'Indian' while standing on land that is in their section and speak it to one of their leaders and you will be immediately lectured that the word is offensive. even though, we who descend 100% from people here 200-300 or more years ago can make the argument that we too are 'native', I prefer to refer to them as native Americans to distinguish them from the others. I read decades ago about how the federal government lost or misplaced tens of billions of dollars or more even that was supposed to be native American money, money that came from the natural resources on their land that the US government was to administer. They in fact had huge amounts of money stolen from them. In Arizona from 50-100 years ago they had their children taken from them against their will and sent to schools where they were forced to speak what was a foreign language to them. We treat them like garbage and how does that reflect on us? Some will say that the local people themselves should provide their own police, prosecutors and courts. I believe there are legal restrictions stopping this from occurring. Let us recall that the native Americans were forced onto certain jurisdictions with certain restrictions. Their land is worth a lot of money. as are their casinos. and when somebody rapes somebody on their land there is no law enforcement on the matter. this can only happen through purposeful mistreatment of them. there is no excuse.
#2. To: Red Jones (#1)
I believe this to be true.
You mean, like illegals?
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