Tohono O'odham Police Collaborate to Fight Border Problems

The long and seemingly deserted southern border of the Tohono O'Odham Nation attracts drug smugglers and other illicit activities, creating a policing nightmare for the tribal police force. In the years leading up to 2007, the crime statistics were astounding:

• an average of 10,000 arrests per month 
• 1500 wrecked or abandoned vehicles towed every year
• At least 100 tribal members involved in narcotics related activity
• About 350 bodies a year found on the reservation
• Critical cultural and natural areas damaged or destroyed

Tribal police turned to state, federal and other tribal partners for help addressing border security and smuggling. Out of this work, law enforcement agencies in Arizona have developed a model collaborative approach that is transforming tribal policing.

According to Edward Reina, Jr., Director of Public Safety for the Tohono O'odham Nation,  Arizona has become "a model of how states should work with Indian Country." In testimony before the Senate this year, he points to a statutory revision that allows trained and qualified tribal police officers to become state Peace Officers that allows them to arrest all offenders; better training for state officers that has reduced misunderstandings regarding extraditions from tribal lands; better data collection and sharing; continuing cooperation with federal agencies, including the FBI, the US Attorney's office, ICE, DEA, ATF, Border Patrol and BIA Law Enforcement. Stakeholders at the tribal, state and federal level meet monthly to share information, discuss needs, develop programs, seek funding and eliminate duplication of effort.

The result? Tribal police led multi-agency efforts to break up large methamphetamine and cocaine rings on the reservation, placed School Resource Officers in each of the tribe's five schools, built a Fusion Center to collect and store offender data, built a Sex Offender registry, and has developed positive working relationships with dozens of agencies and organizations who share a common interest in solving the problems brought by drug smuggling.

To learn more about how a collaborative approach can help you solve your tribe's law enforcement problems, sign up today for our free webinar on Creating Collaboration Through Community Policing. Alternately, join us for our final Tribal Prescription Drugs and Drug Endangered Children training session in Phoenix, AZ (it's also free!) and talk with Arizona tribal professionals about what's working and what still needs to be better.

Community Policing A Success for Tribal Youth

We worry about the dangers that youth face on reservations, especially from drugs and gangs. On the Lac Courte Oreilles reservation in Wisconsin, tribal members complained, "There's no jobs. You see 10-year-old kids in little four to five member gangs walking and breaking windows. Something's going to escalate." Likewise, people of the Penobscot Indian Nation complained about youth playing loud music, vandalizing buildings and even stealing during the long Maine nights.

Anyone familiar with Indian Country knows the problems: too few officers patrolling large, rural areas; too many adults doing drugs or drinking instead of being positive role models; not enough resources for existing law enforcement or service providers. It's not hard to understand how tribal police would shy away from tackling new programs or approaches.

However, as tribal police start applying community policing principles, they have been discovering how many problems it solves. In Wisconsin, tribes across the state share resources, personnel and training with state officers to combat gangs and drugs. In the first year of their partnership, inter-agency teams busted up a crack ring on the St. Croix-Chippewa Nation and made over 105 arrests, all while respecting firm boundaries on tribal sovereignty. In Maine, the Penobscot police worked with tribal leaders to open a tribal coffee shop that provides youth with a friendlier and healthier place to hang out. In Idaho, the Nez Perce tribal police collaborated with the Lewiston and Quad Cities police to bust a dealer holding nearly $300,000 worth of drugs, as well as firearms, cash and jewelry. By collaborating—sharing information, resources and activities to achieve a common goal— the sum of the parts ends up having a huge impact on making communities safer.

The elements of community policing are simple (below), and can be applied to a host of problems for Native youth, from gangs to drug endangered children. To learn more, join us for a free online webinar to discuss Creating Collaboration Through Community Policing, hosted by our expert on successful community policing, Dr. Ron Glensor.