NCJ Number
199631
Journal
Sheriff Volume: 55 Issue: 2 Dated: March-April 2003 Pages: 36-37
Date Published
March 2003
Length
2 pages
Annotation
This article describes how the McKinley County Sheriff's Office (New Mexico) and the "peacemakers" of the Eastern Agency of the Navajo Nation cooperate in helping Indian families deal with domestic violence.
Abstract
The Navajo peacemakers bring their traditional approaches to addressing conflict and disputes in families to the work of the Sheriff's Office. This cooperation has stemmed from a policy of cross-jurisdiction, which allows officers of the sheriff's department to make arrests on the Navajo Nation and within the county borders as tribal officers, and tribal officers are authorized to make arrests within McKinley County as county deputies. The Sheriff's Office has developed a pre-prosecution diversion program for first-time offenders arrested for domestic violence. This program has adopted Navajo values of restoring good relations through "talking things out" through peacemaking, as well as through restoring personal and cultural values, which is achieved through an ongoing relationship with a peacemaker. Peacemakers are trained by the Sheriff's Office in Federal, State, and local laws, as well as in the dynamics of domestic violence. They meet several times a year in an ongoing training program. Peacemakers work with domestic violence partners in 10-12 meetings over a 3-4 month period. They also meet one-on-one in a number of meetings, allowing each partner the opportunity to address his/her own issues privately. The program is funded through a $25,000 State grant; however, there is no guarantee that funding will continue. Although it serves a Native American population, the program is ineligible for various funding opportunities for criminal justice projects for Native Americans because it is operated by a State agency.