Tribally operated law enforcement agencies provide a broad range of public safety services. They respond to calls for service, investigate crimes, enforce traffic laws, execute arrest warrants, serve process, provide court security, and conduct search and rescue operations.
Tribal law enforcement comprises 258 agencies that have at least one full-time sworn officer with arrest authority or authority to issue citations in Indian country, consisting of:
- 234 tribally operated law enforcement agencies
- 23 police agencies operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and
- the Village Public Safety Officer (VPSO) program, which provides services to Alaska Native villages that are under the jurisdiction of the Alaska State Police, the entity that administers the VPSO.
The Census of Tribal Law Enforcement Agencies (CTLEA) helps fulfill BJS’s legislative mandate under the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010 (TLOA; P.L. 111-211, 124 Stat. 2258 § 251(b)) to establish and implement a tribal crime data collection system. The CTLEA collects information from tribal law enforcement agencies, VPSOs in Alaska, and law enforcement agencies operated by the BIA. The survey is designed to capture unique attributes of tribal criminal justice agencies, including information on staffing and recruitment, budgets and sources of funding, equipment, services and support provided, and interactions with federal, state, regional, and local agencies.
Terms & Definitions
Criminal jurisdiction in tribal areas
Jurisdiction over offenses in Indian country may lie with federal, state, or tribal agencies, depending on the particular offense, offender, victim, and offense location. For more information on tribal jurisdiction, see State Prosecutors' Offices with Jurisdiction in Indian Country, 2007, Tribal Law Enforcement, 2008, Census of Tribal Justice Agencies in Indian Country, 2002, and the Jails in Indian Country series.