BIE Schools Unprepared for Violence, Report Says

School violence is on the rise nationwide, and campuses in Indian Country are not immune to this trend. In fact, they could be more of a breeding ground for violent activity than mainstream public schools.

A new evaluation report published by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Inspector General found that the nation’s Bureau of Indian Education schools have many indicators of potential violence, deficiencies in school policies to prevent violence and substantial deficiencies in preventative and emergency safety procedures.

Indian Country in general, as the report stresses, has a violent crime rate that is two to three times higher than the national average. This statistic alone should keep the red flag raised, but there is more.

The report states that 37 percent of BIE students have reported carrying a weapon on campus, compared to 6 percent of public school students. And 75 percent of gang members in Indian Country are school age.

Making BIE schools more prone to violence is the lack of security measures. Around 80 percent lack adequate fencing, and only just about half have a security guard. While most have video surveillance systems, the report says the equipment is often flawed.

Further, the report says, many BIE school staff members have not received even basic training in violence prevention, like anger management, bullying prevention and gang awareness.

In the 2007-2008 school year, the year the report is based on, there were 184 BIE schools in 23 states, with about 48,000 students enrolled.

To read the full report, click here.

$248 million Available for Indian Country Criminal Justice

Associate Attorney General Thomas J. Perrelli announced today that more than $248 million is available for Tribes to assist with addressing the Indian Country’s criminal justice needs. These funds are part of $4 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) funds managed by the Justice Department to assist tribal, state, and local law enforcement and for other criminal justice activities that help to prevent crime and improve the criminal and juvenile justice systems in the United States, while supporting the creation of jobs and providing much needed resources for states and local communities.

Of the $248 million in Recovery Act funding available for Tribes, $225 million is available for Correctional Facilities on Tribal Lands grants, $20.8 million for Indian Tribal Government grants, and $2.8 million for Tribal Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Coalitions grants.

In addition to these funds, Tribes are also eligible to apply for several Department of Justice Recovery Act competitive grant programs that are available to states, local governments and other entities depending upon the eligibility requirements in the solicitations. Application, registration and deadline information are available on the Department’s website at http://www.usdoj.gov/recovery.

Four In 10 Indian Country Jail Inmates Were Held For a Violent Offense

At midyear 2007, an estimated four in 10 inmates in Indian Country jails were confined for a violent offense, the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced Friday. Domestic violence (20 percent) accounted for the largest group of violent offenders, followed by simple or aggravated assault (13 percent) and rape or sexual assault (2 percent). Six percent of Indian country jail inmates were being held for unspecified violent offenses. 

The percentage of Indian Country jail inmates held for drug offenses was unchanged from 2004 to 2007 (7 percent each year), and DWI/DUI offenses dropped from 14 percent in 2004 to 8 percent in 2007. 

Eighty-three jails in Indian Country held an estimated 2,163 inmates at midyear 2007, up from 1,745 inmates held in 68 facilities at midyear 2004. The jail population increased an estimated 24 percent since 2004 when the last BJS Survey of Jails in Indian Country was conducted. The survey collects information from correctional facilities operated by tribal authorities in Indian Country or by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of Interior. Read the more here.