U.S. Reps. Dan Newhouse (R-WA), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), and Sharice Davids (D-KS) recently introduced legislation to bolster tribal law enforcement and increase Indian Country public safety.
Specifically, the Bridging Agency Data Gaps & Ensuring Safety (BADGES) for Native Communities Act would address federal inefficiencies negatively impacting Bureau of Indian Affairs law enforcement recruitment and retention while also establishing resources to combat the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW) and girls.
“Native American communities and law enforcement agencies face an uphill battle investigating cases of missing and murdered indigenous women due to lack of access to coordinated federal crime data,” Newhouse said. “This legislation provides critical federal resources and access to criminal databases to tribal law enforcement so they can effectively investigate these cases and help end the MMIW crisis.”
Bill provisions include increasing Tribal access to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) by requiring Tribal facilitators to conduct ongoing Tribal outreach and serve as a point of contact for Tribes and law enforcement agencies; requiring a report on Tribal law enforcement needs; and enabling the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to conduct background checks for law enforcement officer applicants to improve officer recruitment.
“For years, the federal government has failed to provide tribal communities the resources needed to adequately ensure public safety and properly support Tribal law enforcement agencies,” Gallego said. “I’m proud to introduce this important legislation today, which will help recruit and retain Tribal law enforcement officers, address the unmet public safety needs of Tribal communities, and improve coordination between Tribal, federal, and state agencies in Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons cases.”