In June 2009, the Justice Department announced the launch of a major new initiative to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in tribal communities. 

This effort was kicked off with a series of regional summits by Deputy Attorney General David W. Ogden and Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli to seek input from tribal representatives.  Planning sessions included department component leaders, tribal leaders and experts in relevant areas to begin a dialogue on a range of important issues including law enforcement policy and personnel; communications and consultation; grants and technical assistance; detention facilities; federal prosecution in Indian country; tribal court development; domestic violence; drug courts and substance abuse; federal litigation involving tribes; and civil rights. 

The regional meetings also helped set the agenda for the department’s Tribal Nations Listening Session, convened by Attorney General Eric Holder in October 2009.  The Listening Session allowed department officials to directly engage with tribal leaders on how to address the chronic problems of public safety in tribal communities.  In 1994, Attorney General Janet Reno convened the only other National Listening Session, sponsored jointly with the Department of the Interior, which led to numerous initiatives, including major funding for tribal police, jails and courts.

The Listening Session was critical, but it was only one in a number of steps the department has taken to put a major spotlight on this issue.  For more than a decade, individual components have provided resources, grant funding and technical assistance to tribal communities across the nation, including the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, the Office of Justice Programs, Office on Tribal Justice and the Office on Violence Against Women. 

For the first time, all of the department’s components and leaders are working together to provide the most efficient and timely information to tribal communities.  As we continue to roll-out new policy initiatives and grant opportunities, this new Web site will act as a one-stop shop for tribal communities, developed to provide a user-friendly, updated and comprehensive resource for American Indian and Alaska Native tribal communities to help further improve public safety.  The site’s enhancements continue the department’s commitment to increase communication and resources available to tribal governments and consortiums.