Tribal police agencies struggle to attract, maintain officers, panel told
Tuesday, May 24, 2022
Cronkite News
WASHINGTON, D.C — A Navajo Nation official told a Senate panel last week that the tribe’s police department lacks the resources to attract and retain officers, a problem that experts say is faced by tribal police departments across the country.
Navajo Council Delegate Eugenia Charles-Newton told the Senate Indian Affairs Committee last Wednesday that drug traffickers “know that Indian Country has far too few officers, especially with the size of some of our nation, our reservations.”
“We have heard the stories about what’s happening here within Indian Country when it comes to violence against Natives,” said Charles-Newton, chairwoman of the Navajo Nation Council’s Law and Order Committee. She said a lack of police “does make it an issue.”

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for a statement. But in a written response, the FBI said it has investigative responsibility for federal crimes committed on about 200 Indian reservations, and that it investigates matters that fall within its jurisdiction without regard to age, race, gender, or other personal demographics. “In the last two years, the FBI has opened more than 6,500 Indian Country Crime investigations to include numerous homicide, sexual assault, and violent assault investigations,” the statement said. “The decision to prosecute or decline cases rests with the United States Attorney’s Offices.” But Charles-Newton called on lawmakers to hold both departments more accountable. For more stories from Cronkite News, visit cronkitenews.azpbs.org.Check out today’s roundtable discussion on public safety in Native communities: https://t.co/BhCrxlzvzU
— Senate Committee on Indian Affairs (@IndianCommittee) May 18, 2022
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Notice
Business Meeting to consider S. 3381, S. 3773 & S. 3789 and Roundtable discussion on “Public Safety in Native Communities” (May 18, 2022)
Note: This story originally appeared on Cronkite News. It is published via a Creative Commons license. Cronkite News is produced by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.
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