NCJ Number
193321
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 69 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2002 Pages: 25-27
Date Published
January 2002
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article describes some of the efforts of the International Association of Chiefs of Police's (IACP's) Indian Country Law Enforcement Section to further the goals of policing in Indian Country and make positive changes for its residents throughout the Nation.
Abstract
Organized and operated in accordance with the IACP Constitution, the primary function of the section is to advance the professional standards and relationships among local, State, Federal, and Indian Country law enforcement agencies. Membership of the section includes chief police executives in Indian Country, tribal police chiefs, command staff from the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs and other Federal agencies, and those chief police executives who work on or near Indian Country (municipal police chiefs and county sheriffs). The section advocated the inclusion of specific language in the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act that recognizes Indian Country or tribal governments as separate from State and local governments. The section lobbied for and supported congressional legislation that overturned the U.S. Supreme Court's decision that Indian tribal government did not have authority to prosecute nonmember Indians in their tribal courts. The section also established an Indian Country Law Enforcement Memorial to honor Indian law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. The section, along with the IACP, sponsored a two-day summit in February 2001 entitled, "Improving Safety in Indian Country." It produced 52 recommendations that the IACP has committed to pursue.