I think it's important to post here because it links two issues: law enforcement (here, the BIA surge) and youth suicide on the reservation. You can read the whole testimony HERE.
After introductory remarks, the Chairman quickly got to the heart of the matter:
(emphasis mine)
I will relate the statistics of the Dakota Peacekeepers Operation and where we are faltering today, but at the heart of this matter is the failure of all of us, the Congress, the Federal Agencies and yes, even the Tribe, to create a comprehensive holistic program to address the public safety needs of our community. Nothing demonstrates this more drastically than the recent suicides at Standing Rock. Since January of this year, we have had 9 suicides and 50 attempted suicides. Some may think it inappropriate to discuss suicide in the context of public safety. But for me suicide is not only a tragedy robbing us of our future, it is the miner’s canary -- foretelling what lies ahead for us as a community and a Nation if we do not act to address our public safety needs in Indian country.
The number of suicides at Standing Rock is 1,000 times the National Average among Native Americans. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has said this is an official suicide cluster. Many of those who have taken their lives are children – some as young as ten years old.
...snip...
We are trying to understand why our children are killing themselves. We believe it is related to a sense of hopelessness that people have. They are hopeless about their own futures and that of our community. Some of this hopelessness comes from not feeling safe and in some cases, not being safe.
We as a community have a sacred obligation to protect our youngest members. These suicides prompted our elders to ask us about the 37 BIA police officers here last year who patrolled and interacted with our children, young adults and other residents. When we had the larger law enforcement presence people felt safer and that gave them hope. Thus, many people feel our return to the pre-surge law enforcement staffing levels has had a tragic and devastating impact on our community.
We know that a larger law enforcement presence is not the only answer to our problems, but it is part of the answer. So we urge Congress to continue its emphasis on funding public safety needs in Indian country in a holistic matter. There must be more resources for police, criminal investigators, telecommunication operators, correctional officers, food service personnel, Tribal prosecutors and defenders, resources for the construction of police departments, courts and recurring funding for the operation and maintenance of these facilities.
At the same time, however, there must also be Federal funding for counselors, child protection caseworkers and supervisors, and resources for programs to keep children out of trouble such as funding for the Boys and Girls Club of America. These programs provide positive avenues to channel the boundless energy of our youth. In this regard, we are grateful to the North and South Dakota delegation for your support of funding for Standing Rock in the FY 2010 Department of Justice Appropriations bill for these types of services.
Impact of Operation Dakota Peacekeepers
The 2008 surge had five goals: 1) reduce crime, 2) target illegal drug activities, 3) provide investigative resources to prosecute domestic violence, 4) provide investigate resources to prosecute crimes against children, and 5) develop a strategy to promote a safe community on the Reservation.
In the first two months of the surge, BIA Police made 900 arrests on the reservation. The arrests overwhelmed our Tribal court and adult detention facility. The Tribal Court held arraignments seven days a week to catch up with the workload. The surge continued in diminishing numbers through the end of 2008.
During the six months of the surge, our Tribal Court averaged 339 arraignments per month and the number of complaints received by the BIA Police averaged 350 per month. By comparison, for the first six months of this year, we averaged 233 arraignments and 266 complaints per month. The goals of the temporary surge should be the goals of policing on our reservation every day. These goals are not being met. In fact, we are experiencing a rise in crimes including: domestic abuse; child neglect; minors possessing and consuming alcohol, and aggravated assault. This tells us that the larger police presence was a deterrent.
Thus, if I am asked whether I support a return of the six-month surge on Standing Rock, I do, but I must request that if the BIA renews the surge, it must maintain existing staffing levels from the most underserved Reservations and BIA Police Districts, most of which are located in the Great Plains and Rocky Mountain Regions.
Failure of the BIA to address public safety staffing needs
It is troubling that the BIA cannot fill the 12 additional public safety officer positions added by the BIA to Standing Rock in 2008. In 2009, Congress provided $255,077,000 for law enforcement services and in FY 2008 Congress provided $228,137,000 for the BIA’s law enforcement program. This represents a $50,623,000 increase in the area of law enforcement in the last two fiscal years alone.
It is unclear how the BIA allocated these increased resources among the BIA's six Office of Law Enforcement Services Districts. It appears to us that the BIA does not have a systematic methodology for distributing its public safety funds, including funds for detention officers and investigators.
...snip...
As a result of the data gathered from the last year’s surge, the BIA increased the full-time BIA law enforcement positions at Standing Rock to twenty-five. The problem has been the BIA's failure to fill the 12 additional positions it created. We still only have 13 public safety staff and we are losing one criminal investigator. As a result, we will have fewer public safety officers than we did last year prior to the surge. The BIA cites recruitment and retention challenges for failing to fill the available full-time positions.
However, we remain frustrated that the BIA will only put officers on the street who have completed the Bureau's sixteen week training academy in Artesia, New Mexico. Even if we do find people willing to leave their families for four months, we understand there is a waiting list to get into the Academy at Artesia. Meanwhile, we are aware of number of fully-accredited current or former State police officers who want to serve our community.
...snip....
In short, the BIA has received more than $50 million more dollars in the last two fiscal years for its law enforcement program. The BIA should be able to provide Indian tribes and the Congress the answers to the following questions: 1) How many officers, telecommunication operators and criminal investigators did the BIA hire with this money? 2) How many completed training at the BIA Police Academy at Artesia? 3) How many are waiting for training? 4) Where were law enforcement personnel initially assigned by the BIA? 5) How many of those individuals are currently at their initial posts? 6) How many requested reassignment or left the BIA? and most important, 7) How did the BIA determine their placement? The same is true concerning information about correction officers and BIA funding for construction, operations and maintenance (O&M) of adult and juvenile detention services. To date, I am not aware of any such reports by the BIA to Congress or to Tribal leaders concerning these matters. I would urge that the Congress make the above-noted reports a mandatory annual requirement of the BIA.
D. Conclusion
...snip...
I ask for your help and the help of this Committee to direct the BIA to make them happen this year:
1. The BIA should fill all public safety personnel vacancies at Standing Rock immediately using detailed personnel so that the BIA Police Department at Standing Rock operates at the full staffing level of 25 public safety officers. Detailed personnel can then rotate out from Standing Rock when the BIA has hired, trained and housed full time replacement public safety personnel at Standing Rock or as close to the reservation as possible;
2. Grant Special Law Enforcement Commissions to Tribal Game and Fish Rangers so that they may lawfully respond to emergencies;
3. Bring BIA Artersia Academy trainers to the Great Plains Region to provide instruction to former State-accredited police officers and Military Police personnel hired by the BIA, but who have not gone through the BIA’s 16-week training academy, so that they may receive interim Indian country training and be authorized by the BIA to patrol on Standing Rock;
4. Install a centralized 911 call center on the Reservation, and ensure that public safety personnel and Tribal Game and Fish Rangers use identical communications equipment to coordinate public safety activities;
5. Provide construction funds to build on-reservation housing for BIA public safety officers and renovate existing BIA police facilities;
6. establish a pilot program at Standing Rock this summer to educate youth about staying out of trouble; encourage Tribal members to pursue careers in law enforcement; and offer recruitment incentives to Native Americans to join the BIA Police academy.
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