Friday, March 19, 2010

Indian Country Police Forces Still Severely Understaffed

Indian reservation police forces remain understaffed, with some operating at levels as low as 50 percent, officials told members of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee at a hearing yesterday.

As reported by the Argus Leader today, approximately 3,000 police officers serve all of Indian Country, citing the Bureau of Indian Affairs as the source. Even Washington, D.C., has more officers on its force.

Reasons for the staff shortages are many. One of the biggest ones, though, is poor pay. It has made recruiting and retaining difficult. Some departments are so under-funded that they don’t have the money to hire new staff or to provide the training for certification.

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