Chapter 2 - 2.3.5
Chapter 2: The Indian reservation today
2.3.5. Policing on American Indian Reservations
More than 200 police departments act in Indian reservations. These departments range in size from 2 or 3 officers to more than 200 officers. There is also organization under the auspices of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 which is the most common administrative arrangement for police departments. It gives the opportunity to set up tribal government functions by contracting with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) (Policing on American Indian Reservations 2001:5). In the research report “Policing on the American Indian Reservations” is written:
Departments administered by the BIA are the second most common type of police department in the reservations. Staff in these departments are Federal employees. For many years, patrol officers were under the line authority of the local BIA superintendent(…), and criminal investigators were under the line authority of the BIA’s Division of Law Enforcement Services. Recent changes have placed line authority for patrol under the BIA’s Division of Law Enforcement Services as well.(Policing on the American Indian Reservations 2001:6).
The typical department serves a large area with a population of only 10,000 and is patrolled by three police officers. In other words, these areas with relatively small population are patrolled by a small number of policemen. Many small departments have at most nine officers. Officers working in the reservations are always graduates of high schools. They also are certified law enforcement training academies. Police provide around-the-clock coverage to the communities (Policing on American Indian Reservations 2001:6).