NCJ Number
168145
Date Published
1996
Length
14 pages
Annotation
As part of the larger demand for self-government, North American Natives are pushing for control over the administration of justice in their communities.
Abstract
The approach to Native policing that comes closest to the one advocated by Native leaders is found in the few more or less autonomous police programs that have been established in relatively recent times. In general these programs involve local control exercised either by the Band or Tribal Council or a Police Commission composed of Native members and some law enforcement professionals from various levels of government. In the United States, Native police agencies are more common than in Canada; however, for the most part, these programs are not autonomous in the truest sense of the word; Native criminal justice agencies in the United States have historically been allowed to deal with relatively minor crimes, but have not had authority over 16 serious offenses delineated in the Major Crimes Act. Three models for Native-controlled policing are most likely to be seriously considered in the last decade of the century. They are the crime control model, with a style of policing similar to that in the larger society, where maintenance of public order is accorded primacy; the community policing model, which involves decentralized control and community involvement; and the political sovereignty model, which would be based on a radical reconceptualization of the law as an instrument of social control. Under the latter model, Native communities would have their own courts and might well control jails and probation and parole services. The police would form one part of an integrated criminal justice system based on Native values. Pressures to bring about some sort of change in Native institutions are strong. The task of the policing community will be to aid in the selection of solutions that best serve the needs of the Native community.