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Witnesses tell Senate Indian Affairs tribal public‑safety funding gap leaves communities vulnerable; jurisdiction fixes urged
Summary
Leaders told senators public safety and justice in Indian Country are vastly underfunded, with a reported $3 billion shortfall and 25,000 officer deficit; witnesses urged Congress to couple jurisdictional fixes with funding and to expand tribal courts' access to electronic evidence.
Witnesses at the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs oversight hearing described sizable funding and jurisdictional gaps that hamper tribal law enforcement, prosecutions and courts.
"Public safety and justice in Indian country is currently funded at only 12% of actual need," Mark Macarro, president of the National Congress of American Indians, told the committee, citing a Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services 2021 report that estimated a $3,000,000,000 funding shortfall and the need for about 25,000 additional personnel to meet federal tribal policing…
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