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GAO-11-167R 1 (2010-12-13)

handle is hein.gao/gaobaanvu0001 and id is 1 raw text is: AGA ~G A 0 Acountabiity I Integrity * Reliability United States Government Accountability Office Washington, DC 20548 December 13, 2010 The Honorable Byron L. Dorgan Chairman Committee on Indian Affairs United States Senate The Honorable John Barrasso Vice Chairman Committee on Indian Affairs United States Senate The Honorable John Thune United States Senate Subject: U.S. Department of Justice Declinations of Indian Country Criminal Matters The Department of Justice (DOJ) has reported that the crime rates experienced by American Indians are two and a half times higher than those experienced by the general population in the United States. Specifically, from 1992 to 2001 American Indians experienced violent crimes at a rate of 101 violent crimes per 1,000 persons annually, compared to the national rate of 41 per 1,000 persons. The federal government plays a major role in prosecuting crimes committed in Indian country. For example, unless a federal statute has granted the state jurisdiction, the federal government has exclusive jurisdiction to prosecute non-Indians who commit crimes against Indians in Indian country, while the federal government and tribal governments both have jurisdiction to prosecute Indian offenders who commit crimes in Indian country. Federal prosecution, however, carries with it the possibility of greater terms of imprisonment, as tribal courts are statutorily limited to a maximum of 3 years imprisonment per offense, regardless of the severity of the offense, for example, a homicide.' Because of such jurisdictional and sentencing limitations, tribal communities rely on the federal government to investigate and prosecute a variety of crimes in Indian country. Members of Congress have raised questions over recent press reports that federal prosecutors have declined to prosecute a significant percentage of Indian country 'The Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010 (Pub. L. No. 111-211, tit. II, 124 Stat. 2258, 2261 (2010)) provides tribes with authority to sentence certain convicted Indian offenders for up to 3 years of imprisonment, provided that they afford additional pretrial and trial protections to safeguard the rights of the accused. See 25 U.S.C. § 1302. Before the passage of the act on July 29, 2010 the sentencing authority of tribes was limited to one year. GAO-11-167R Declinations of Indian Country Matters Page I

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