The board of supervisors in Navajo County, Arizona, approved cross-certification agreements with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and mutual aid agreements with the Navajo Nation, the Hopi Tribe and the White Mountain Apache Tribe.

County sheriff deputies will be able to patrol and make arrests on tribal land. Officials said the deals will help address drug and gang problems in Indian Country.

"We're taking this one step at a time," county attorney Brad Carlyon told The White Mountain Independent. "The BIA cross-certification is the first step. Tribal police officers already have dual certification."

Carlyon said the White Mountain Apache Reservation is a center of drug activity and that motorcycle gangs are targeting reservation due to inadequate law enforcement.

Get the Story:
Deputies gain more authority on tribal lands (The White Mountain Independent 12/1)

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