Crossing the Bridge: Tribal-State-Local Collaboration

• NCJ Number: 252527
• Author(s): William Thorne; Suzanne Garcia
• Date Published: February 2019
• Length: 29 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2016-IC-BX-K001
• Agencies: BJA-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Report (Technical Assistance); Report (Grant Sponsored); Legislation/Policy Description; Issue Overview; Instructional Material (Programmed)

Annotation

This guide discusses the rationale for, objectives of, and implementation procedures for tribal-state-local collaboration to produce better outcomes for tribal crime victims.

Abstract

The rationale for collaboration among criminal justice agencies in these separate jurisdictions is to exchange information that bears upon case processing and services for victims; to develop and cooperate in complying with regulations that bear upon how each jurisdiction handles similar offenses; and share information on effective policies and practices for addressing various types of offenses. This paper also proposes a plan for tribal-state-local collaboration. The proposed internal planning in preparing for collaboration consists of setting goals, creating a leadership team, setting timelines for collaborative activities, assessing readiness to collaborate, defining collaboration, assessing readiness to collaborate, setting internal "ground rules," acknowledging history and context as factors in collaboration on various issues, and determining who should be contacted from a prospective collaborative partner. Guidelines for planning together for an ongoing collaboration involve agreeing on a common definition of collaboration; developing a cross-jurisdictional team to help spark the development of trust between collaborating agencies; establishing goals, timelines, and expectations for the collaboration; establishing ground rules and common values; and gathering information for group analysis of a problem. Another major aspect of collaboration is the establishment of ongoing working relationships among the involved organizations. This involves reaching agreement on specific operational changes; incorporating continuous quality improvement; moving on to new goals while revisiting unresolved issues; and celebrating successes, sharing credit, and accepting blame.