American Indians and Crime, Statistical Report, 2004 December

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U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Bureau of Justice Statistics
A BJS Statistical Profile, 1992-2002
American Indians
and Crime
imi
i
l
0
Number of vict
zat ons per
1,000 persons age 12 or older
American Indians experienced violence at a rate
(101 violent crimes per 1,000 American Indians)
more than twice the rate for the Nation
(41 per 1,000 persons), 1992-2001
Simp e assault
Aggravated assault
Robbery
Rape/sexual assault
10
20
30
40
50
60
70

All races
American Indians
U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Bureau of Justice Statistics
A BJS Statistical Profile, 1992-2002
American Indians
and Crime
By Steven W. Perry
BJS Statistician
December 2004, NCJ 203097
U.S. Department of Justice
Contents
Bureau of Justice Statistics
Foreword
iii
Lawrence A. Greenfeld, Director
Highlights
iv
Steven W. Perry, BJS Statistician,
Census 2000 and race
1
wrote the report under the
National Crime Victimization Survey
4
supervision of Steven K. Smith.
Uniform Crime Reporting Program,
Patsy Klaus provided the
Supplementary Homicide Reports,
statistical review. Todd Minton,
1976-2001
12
Mark Motivans, Matthew
Arrests of American Indians
15
Hickman, Matthew Durose, and
American Indians in the Federal
Tracy Snell provided analytic
justice system
18
assistance and comment. Also
Recidivism among American Indian
at BJS, Thomas Cohen and
prisoners released in 1994
22
Devon Adams commented
American Indians and capital
on drafts of the report. Tina
punishment, 1973-2002
25
Dorsey and Tom Hester produced
Indian country criminal justice,
and edited the report. Jayne
corrections
26
Robinson prepared the report
Tribal criminal victimization
31
for final publication.
Summary report of three American
Indian criminal victimization surveys
32
Valuable comments were contrib-
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla
uted by Norena Henry, Director
Indian Reservation (CTUIR) Criminal
of the American Indian/Alaska
Victimization Survey
32
Native Affairs in the Office of
Southern Ute Indian (SUI) Reservation
Justice Programs. Also, Claudette Community Safety Survey
36
Bennett and Stella Ogunwole of
Zuni Pueblo Indian Reservation
the Census Bureau, U.S. Depart
Criminal Victimization Survey
40
ment of Commerce, reviewed
Sources of data on American
Census 2000 data used in this
Indians and crime
42
report.
.
ii American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002
Foreword
This report represents a compilation
and new analysis of data on the
incidents, prevalence, and conse
quences of violent crime among
American Indians. The report uses
data from a wide variety of sources,
including statistical series maintained
by the Bureau of Justice Statistics
(BJS), the Federal Bureau
of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of
Prisons (BOP), and the U.S. Census
Bureau.
The findings reveal a disturbing picture
of the victimization of American Indians
and Alaska Natives. The rate of violent
crime estimated from self reported
victimizations for American Indians is
well above that of other U.S. racial or
ethnic groups and is more than twice
the national average. This disparity in
the rates of exposure to violence
affecting American Indians occurs
across age groups, housing locations,
and by gender.
American Indians are more likely than
people of other races to experience
violence at the hands of someone of a
different race, and the criminal victim
izer is more likely to have consumed
alcohol preceding the offense.
In three recent BJS-sponsored tribal
level criminal victmization surveys,
victims reported that alcohol use by the
offender was a factor in more than
40% of the incidents of overall
violence, and more specifically,
domestic violence.
This study was prepared as a resource
to respond to frequent inquiries and to
update the previously published BJS
analysis of the impact of crime on
American Indians. The data should be
of value to those concerned about how
crime affects this segment of the U.S.
population.
BJS has undertaken efforts to improve
the National Crime Victimization
Survey (NCVS) data collection on
crime and its consequences for Ameri
can Indians. In 1999 BJS enhanced
the NCVS to report statistics on victimi
zations occurring on tribal lands.
Lawrence A. Greenfeld, Director,
Bureau of Justice Statistics
American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002 iii
Highlights
Violent victimizations*
All races
American Indian
White
Black
Asian
0
40
80
120
Number of violent victimizations
per 1,000 persons age 12 or older
• American Indians experienced a
per capita rate of violence twice that
of the U.S. resident population.**
• On average, American Indians
experienced an estimated 1 violent
crime for every 10 residents age 12
or older.
Murder
Number of murder victims per 100,000
American Indians
7.5
6
4.5
3
1.5
0
1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000
Age*
• From 1976 to 2001 an estimated
3,738 American Indians were
murdered.
• After 1995 the annual American
Indian murder rate decreased about
45% from 6.6 to 3.6 murders per
100,000 residents in 2001.
• From 1976 to 1999, 7 in 10
American Indian juvenile murder
victims were killed by another
American Indian.
0
120
160
Rate of vi
i
i
55 or older
45-54
35-44
25-34
18-24
12-17
40
80
Age
olent v ctim zation
per 1,000 persons in each group
American Indians
All races
• The violent crime rate in every age
group below age 35 was significantly
higher for American Indians than for
all persons.
• Among American Indians age 25 to
34, the rate of violent crime victimiza
tions was more than 2½ times the
rate for all persons the same age.
*National Crime Victimization Survey annual
average rates and percentages for 1992-2001
(does not include murder).
**American Indians in this report include
Alaska Natives and Aleuts. Asians include
Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.
iv American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002
Gender*
0
120
i
i
i
lder
All races
American Indians
40
80
160
Number of v olent v ctim zations
per 1,000 persons age 12 or o
Male
Female
Victim-offender relationship*
l vi
vi
0%
20%
40%
80%
/
i
Robbery
Rape/sexual
assault
Tota
olent
ctimizations
60%
Percent of victimizations
Acquaintances
Strangers
Simple
assault
Aggravated
assault
Intimate family members
of Amer can Indians
Offender race*
Victims
American Indians
All races
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
Percent of violent victimizations
with a white offender
• Rates of violent victimization for
both males and females were
higher for American Indians than
for all races.
• American Indian females were
less likely to be victims compared
to American Indian males.
• The rate of violent victimization
among American Indian women
was more than double that among
all women.
• Offenders who were strangers to
the victims committed most of the
robberies (71%) against American
Indians.
• American Indians were more
likely to be victims of assault and
rape/sexual assault committed by
a stranger or acquaintance rather
than an intimate partner or family
member.
• Approximately 60% of American
Indian victims of violence, about
the same percentage as of all
victims of violence, described the
offender as white.
*National Crime Victimization Survey
annual average rates and percentages
for 1992-2001.
American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002 v
Alcohol use by offender*
Alcohol
Drugs
Both
0%
20%
40%
60%
Percent of violent victimizations
with offender alcohol/drug use
American Indians
All races
Weapon use by offender
Handgun
Rifle/
shotgun
Other
firearm
Knife
Blunt
object
Personal
weapon
All other
weapons
0%
20%
40%
60%
All races
American Indians
Percent of murder victims
by type of weapon used
Source: UCR, Supplementary Homicide
Reports, 1990-99
• American Indian victims of
violence were more likely than all
victims to report an offender who
was under the influence of alcohol
at the time of the crime.
• Overall about 62% of American
Indian victims experienced violence
by an offender using alcohol
compared to 42% for the national
average.
• Compared to all murder victims,
American Indian victims of homicide
were more likely to have been
killed by a rifle/shotgun or a knife.
• American Indians faced an offender
with a weapon in nearly a third of the
violent crime incidents.*
*National Crime Victimization Survey
annual average rates and percentages
for 1992-2001.
vi American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002
Alcohol related arrests
Alcohol-related violations
Driving under
the influence
Liquor laws
Drunkenness
All races
American
Indians
0
100
200
300
400
500
Number of arrestees
(per 100,000 population)
Source: FBI, Crime in the United States, 2001
• The arrest rate among American
Indians for alcohol violations —
DUI, liquor law violations, and
drunkenness — was higher than
the rate among all races.
• American Indians were arrested
for driving under the influence (DUI)
at a rate of 479 per 100,000
residents, compared to 332 for all
races.
• Liquor law violation arrest rates
were about 143 per 100,000 for all
races and 405 per 100,000 Ameri
can Indians.
Federal justice system
Suspects investigated by U.S. attorney
offices, by offense
Violent
Property
Drugs
Other
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
Indian country
Total (U.S.)
Percent of suspects
investigated by U.S. attorneys
Sources: BJS Federal Justice Statistics Program;
Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, Central
System File, fiscal year 2000.
• The U.S. attorney’s office is the
principal prosecutor of criminal
cases for violation of Federal laws
in Indian country.
• About 1 in 4 suspects investigated
by U.S. attorneys for violent crimes
in fiscal year 2000 were from Indian
country, though not all such
suspects were American Indians.
• Nearly 75% of the investigations
of Indian country suspects involved
violent crimes.
American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002 vii
Recidivism among American
Indians
Percent of released American
Indian prisoners charged
with a new offense
60%
40%
20%
46%
21%
Arrested
Convicted
Sentenced to prison
0%
60%
6 months
1 year
2 years
3 years
Time after release from prison
Source: BJS, Recidivism of Prisoners
Released in 1994
• The recidivism rates of American
Indians were similar to those for all
offenders — whether for a new arrest,
conviction, or sentence to prison.
• Within 3 years of their release
from State prison in 1994, an
estimated 3 in 5 American Indians
were arrested for a new crime — a
felony or a serious misdemeanor.
• 46% of American Indians released
from prison in 1994 were convicted
of a new crime within 3 years, with
about 21% being sentenced to prison
for the new offense.
• 36% of American Indians released
from prison in 1994 were back in
prison serving time for a technical
violation of their parole or probation.
• Nearly 15% (11) of 75 American
Indians released from prison in 1994
for a past homicide were arrested for
another murder within 36 months.
viii American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002
Census 2000 and race
The Census 2000 implemented
a new protocol for collecting race and
ethnicity data. Respondents were
given the option of selecting one or
more race categories to indicate their
racial identity.
The Census 2000 question on race
included 15 separate response catego
ries and three areas where respon
dents could write in a name of a racial
group. The response categories and
written answers can be combined to
create the categories shown below:
• White
• Black or African American
• American Indian or Alaska Native
• Asian
• Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
• Some other race
• Two or more races.
The number of people reporting one
race and the number of those who
reported two or more races add to the
total population (table 1).
Measuring criminal victimization
among American Indians
In April 2000 American Indians
accounted for 4.1 million, or 1.5%, of
the 281.4 million people in the United
States. This includes people who
selected American Indian or Alaska
Native alone or in combination with at
least one other race category. About
2.5 million American Indians, 0.9% of
the total population, listed only one
race, and 1.6 million, 0.6%, reported
American Indian in combination with
one or more other races.
American Indian and Alaska Native are
terms describing a person whose
origins are in any of the original
peoples of North, Central, and South
America and who maintains tribal
affiliation or community attachment.1
American Indian throughout this report
refers to the American Indian and
Alaska Native population.
In Census 2000 people who identified
themselves as American Indians on
the questionnaire were asked to report
their enrolled or principal tribe.
Respondents could report one or more
tribal affiliations. Census information
on tribal affiliation is based on self
identification and therefore is not
limited to federally or state-recognized
tribes or actual tribal enrollment.
1Stella U. Ogunwole, 2002, The American
Indian and Alaska Native Population: 2000,
U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Brief,
C2KBR/01-15.
Table 1. U.S. population 2000,
by race
Race
Population
Percent
Total population 281,421,906
100.0%
American Indian
and Alaska Native
2,475,956
0.9
White
211,460,626
75.1
Black or African
34,658,190
12.3
Asian
10,242,998
3.6
Native Hawaiian
or Pacific Islander
398,835
0.1
Some other race
15,359,073
5.5
Two or more races
6,826,228
2.4
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000
Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data.
American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002 1
American Indian tribal affiliation
American Indians in the United States
belong to approximately 562 federally
recognized tribes — as well as bands
and clans — that have a distinct
history, culture, and often a separate
language.2
In 2000 about 79% of American
Indians who reported a single race
reported a specific tribe and 21% did
not.3 Among those who reported
2Information on the federally recognized tribes
can be found in the Federal Register, Vol. 68,
No. 234, December 5, 2003, entitled Indian
Entities Recognized and Eligible to Receive
Service from the United States Bureau of Indian
Affairs, Department of the Interior, Bureau of
Indian Affairs, issued by the Office of Manage
ment and Budget.
3U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000
Summary File 1.
American Indian in combination with
another race, 67% specified a tribal
affiliation and 33% did not.
The 10 largest American Indian tribal
groupings — based on respondents
who reported American Indian or
Alaska Native alone and their tribal
affiliation — accounted for 47.5% of
the 2.5 million respondents (table 2).4
Over 20% of the American Indian
population identifying one race
reported tribal affiliation with the
Cherokee or Navajo tribes.
4Tribal grouping refers to the combining of
individual American Indian tribes, such as Fort
Sill Apache, Mescalero Apache, Payson Tonto
Apache, and White Mountain Apache into the
general Apache tribe, or the combining of
individual Alaska Native tribes such as Ameri
can Eskimo, Eskimo, and Greenland Eskimo
into the general Eskimo tribe.
Over 20% of the American Indian population report tribal
affiliation with the Cherokee or Navajo tribes.
Table 2. The 10 largest American Indian tribal groupings in the
United States, 2000
American Indian or Alaska
Native alone (one tribal
Tribal grouping
grouping reported)
Percent
Total
2,475,956
100%
Cherokee
281,069
11.4%
Navajo
269,202
10.9
Canadian and Latin American
108,802
4.4
Sioux
108,272
4.4
Chippewa
105,907
4.3
Choctaw
87,349
3.5
Pueblo
59,533
2.4
Apache
57,060
2.3
Lumbee
51,913
2.1
Iroquois
45,212
1.8
All other tribal groupings
753,406
24.0%
More than one tribal group reported
52,425
2.1%
No tribal affiliation reported
511,960
20.7%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Indian and Alaska Native Tribes in the United States: 2000,
Census 2000 PHC-T-18; Census 2000 Summary File 1, General Population Characteristics.
U.S. Census Bureau, Demographic Trends in the 20th Century, November 2002.
See <http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/censr-4.pdf>.
2 American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002
American Indians and geographic
distribution
Most States with the highest percent
age of American Indian residents had
that distinction for all of the 20th
century. Eight of the ten States with
the highest percentage of American
Indians in 1900 were also among the
top 10 in 1950 and 1990.
Because of the changes to the data
on race in Census 2000, the data are
not comparable to data from the 1990
or earlier censuses.
In 2000 nearly 1.6 million people who
reported their race as American Indian
alone lived in 10 States (table 3).
California had the largest number of
American Indian residents, who made
up about 1% (reporting one race) to
Table 3. States with 1 of the 10
largest American Indian populations,
Census 2000
American
Percent of
Indian
State total
Area
(alone)
population
2% (two or more races) of the State's
total population (table 3).
Alaska had the largest proportion of
the State's total residents identified as
American Indian with nearly 16%
reporting one race and 19% reporting
two or more.
The median age (28 years) of the
American Indian population (alone)
in 2000 was nearly 7 years younger
than the median for U.S. residents
and nearly 10 years younger than
that for whites (table 4).
The Census 2000 population counts
for the American Indian population
(alone) are used for comparison
through the remainder of this report.
The use of the race (alone) count
allows for the most reliable comparison
with findings on American Indians and
crime prior to the change in Census
data collection on race. For example,
the National Criminal Victimization
Survey allows respondents to identify
one race category for the data collec
tion period, 1992 to 2001.
Table 4. Median age of single-race
U. S. residents, by race, Census 2000
Race
Median age
Total population
35.3
American Indian
28.0
White
37.7
Black
30.2
Asian
32.7
Source: Census 2000 Summary
File 1 (SF-1).
American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002 3
California
Oklahoma
Arizona
New Mexico
Texas
North Carolina
Alaska
Washington
New York
Michigan
333,346
1.0%
273,230
7.9
255,879
5.0
173,483
9.5
118,362
0.6
99,551
1.2
98,043
15.6
93,301
1.6
82,461
0.4
58,479
0.6
Total
1,586,135
Source: Stella U. Ogunwole, 2002, The
American Indian and Alaska Native Popula
tion: 2000, U.S. Census Bureau, Census
2000 Brief, C2KBR/01-15.
National Crime Victimization Survey
The NCVS collects information on the
Nation's experience with crime. These
data provide demographic characteris
tics of the victims, including age,
gender, race, ethnicity, marital status,
income, and educational level, and the
offenders’ characteristics as reported
by the victim.
As administered during 1992-2001,
respondents in the NCVS selected a
single race identifier: white, black,
American Indian and Alaska Native,
Asian and Pacific Islander, or other.
(NCVS reports ethnicity — Hispanic or
non-Hispanic — separately.) American
Indians represented about 0.5% of
those interviewed from 1992 to 2001.
The NCVS provides estimates for the
violent crimes of rape, sexual assault,
robbery, aggravated assault, and
simple assault for persons age 12 or
older. The characteristics of victimiza
tions include time and place, weapon
use, self protection, injury and medical
care, victim-offender relationship, and
economic losses.
NCVS data for 1992 to 2001 were
aggregated to provide enough cases
to generate annual average crime
victimization estimates for American
Indians and Alaska Natives.5
Annually, during 1992 to 2001 Ameri
can Indians experienced on average
116,000 violent crimes of the
estimated total 9.1 million occurring
among all racial groups (table 5).
NCVS victimization data for 1992 to
2001 indicate that American Indians
accounted for an average of about
1.3% of all violent victimizations
annually.
The annual average violent crime rate
among American Indians from 1992 to
2001 (101 per 1,000 person age 12 or
older) was about 2½ times the national
rate (41 per 1,000 persons).
5See Methodology on page 43 for a descrip
tion of computation of annual averages.
Table 5. Annual average violent victimization rates
for persons age 12 or older, by race, 1992-2001
Annual average, 1992-2001
Rate of violent
victimization per
Population
Number of violent
1,000 persons
Race
age 12 or older
victimizations
age 12 or older
All races
219,400,860
9,100,950
41
American Indian
1,144,600
116,050
101
White
184,342,110
7,484,760
41
Black
26,625,810
1,336,620
50
Asian
7,288,340
163,520
22
Note: NCVS estimates of the racial distribution of the resident population age 12 or older for the
period 1992-2002 correspond to the estimates reported by the Census Bureau in The American
Indian and Alaska Native Population: 2000. NCVS estimates show that American Indians
represented 0.5% of those interviewed, while Census 2000 shows that American Indians
account for 0.9% of the resident population, age 12 or older.
4 American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002
The annual average violent crime rate
among American Indians was twice as
high as that of blacks (50 per 1,000
persons), 2½ times higher than that for
whites (41 per 1,000 persons), and 4½
times that for Asians (22 per 1,000
persons).
American Indians made up about 1.3%
of all victims of violence, more than
double their 0.5% represented in the
NCVS sample (table 6). Blacks also
have higher representation among
victims of violence (14.7%) than their
proportion of the population age 12 or
older (12.1%). Whites and Asians have
lower representation of violent victimi
zations relative to their proportions of
the general population.
Table 6. Survey population and
victims of violence, by race,
1992-2001
Percent of NCVS sample
and victims of violence, age
12 or older, 1992-2001
NCVS
population
Victims of
estimates
violence
Total
100%
100%
American Indian
0.5
1.3
White
84.0
82.2
Black
12.1
14.7
Asian
3.3
1.8
Note: The average annual NCVS popula
tion estimate for 1992-2001 was 219
million, and the average annual number
of violent victimizations was 9.1 million.
From 1992 to 2001 the annual average
per capita rate of violent victimization
translates into 1 violent crime for every
24 residents age 12 or older. Per
capita rates vary by race. American
Indians experienced approximately 1
violent crime for every 10 residents
age 12 or older, compared to 1 violent
victimization for every 20 blacks, 1 for
every 25 whites, and 1 for every 45
Asian residents.
Types of violent crime
On average during 1992-2001, Ameri
can Indians age 12 or older experi
enced annually an estimated 100,500
simple and aggravated assaults, 9,600
robberies, and 5,900 rapes or sexual
assaults.
American Indians were twice as likely
to experience a rape/sexual assault
(5 per 1,000 persons age 12 or older)
compared to all races (2 per 1,000)
(table 7).
The annual average robbery rate for
the Nation was 5 per 1,000 residents
age 12 or older from 1992 to 2001.
American Indians (8 per 1,000) experi
enced robberies at double the rate for
whites (4 per 1,000) but at a more
similar rate for blacks (10 per 1,000).
Table 7. Annual average rates of rape/sexual assault, robbery,
aggravated assault, and simple assault, by race of victim, 1992-2001
Number of victimizations per 1,000 persons
age 12 or older in each racial group
All
American
races
Indian
White
Black
Asian
Violent victimizations
41
101
41
50
22
Rape/sexual assault
2
5
2
2
1
Robbery
5
8
4
10
5
Aggravated assault
9
25
8
13
5
Simple assault
26
61
27
26
12
American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002 5
The annual average aggravated and
simple assault rates among American
Indians were more than double the
rates for the Nation. American Indians
experienced aggravated assaults at a
rate of 25 per 1,000 persons,
compared to 9 per 1,000 for all races.
For simple assaults American Indians
(61 per 1,000) were victims twice as
often as whites (27 per 1,000) and
blacks (26 per 1,000) (figure 1).
The distribution of types of violent
crimes experienced by American
Indians was similar to that of the other
racial groups across the Nation. The
most common type of violent victimiza
tion among American Indians, as
among all groups, was simple assault
(61%) (table 8). According to NCVS
estimates, among violent crimes
reported by American Indians, 25%
were aggravated assaults; 8%, robber
ies; and 5%, rapes/sexual assaults.
Annual average rate of violent victimization among American Indians
and all races, by type of violent crime, 1992-2001
Rape/sexual assault
Robbery
Aggravated assault
Simple assault
All races
American Indians
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70

Number of violent victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older
Figure 1
Table 8. Violent crime, by type of crime and race of victim, 1992-2001
Percent of violent victimizations
All
American
Type of crime
races
Indian
White
Black
Asian
Total
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
Rape/sexual assault
4
Robbery
11
Aggravated assault
21
Simple assault
63
5
4
4
5
8
10
19
21
25
20
25
22
61
66
51
52
Annual average number
of victimizations
9,100,950
116,050
7,484,760
1,336,620
163,520
Note: Total includes racial categories not presented.
6 American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002
Gender, age, and location of residence
of victims of violent crime
During 1992-2001 the yearly average
violent crime rates were 49 per 1,000
males age 12 or older and 35 per
1,000 females. The violent crime rate
among American Indian males was
118 per 1,000, more than double the
overall rate (table 9).
The rate of violent crime victimization
among American Indian females
(86 per 1,000) was 2½ times the rate
for all females. The victimization rate
among American Indian females was
much higher than that found among
black females (46 per 1,000 age 12 or
older), about 2½ times higher than that
among white females (34), and 5 times
that of Asian (17) females.
In the four younger age groups, from
12 to 44, the violent crime rate was
higher for American Indians than for all
races. The violent crime victimization
rate was highest (155 per 1,000
persons) for American Indians age 18
to 24, compared to the highest rate in
the 12-to-17-age group for all races
(94 per 1,000).
Among persons in the 55 or older
category, the American Indian violent
crime rate was 22 per 1,000 versus the
overall rate of 8 per 1,000.
Just under half the violent crimes
committed against American Indians
occurred among those age 12 to 24, a
pattern similar across racial groups
(table 10).
Table 9. Violent crime rates for persons age 12 or older,
by race, age, gender, and location of residence, 1992-2001
Annual average rates of violent victimization per 1,000 persons
Victim
All
American
characteristic
races
Indian
White
Black
Asian
Total
41
101
41
50
22
Gender
Male
49
118
48
55
28
Female
35
86
34
46
17
Age
12 to 17
94
146
18 to 24
84
155
25 to 34
50
140
35 to 44
36
93
45 to 54
24
45
55 or older
8
22
95
97
45
85
88
38
50
53
24
36
41
17
24
27
14
7
9
5
Location
Urban
53
130
Suburban
39
111
Rural
31
81
53
60
22
39
44
23
31
27
24
American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002 7
Table 10. Percent of violent victimizations, by age, gender, and race of victim,
1992-2001
Percent of violent victimizations
All
American
Victim characteristics
races
Indian
White
Black
Asian
Total
100%
Gender
Male
57%
Female
43
Age
12 to 17
24%
18 to 24
24
25 to 34
22
35 to 44
17
45 to 54
9
55 or older
5
Annual average number
of violent victimizations
9,100,950
Victim-offender relationship
Among American Indian victims of
violence, the offender was more likely
to be a stranger than an intimate
partner, family member, or acquain
tance. Strangers committed 42% of the
violent crimes against American
Indians during 1992-2001 (table 11).
An acquaintance committed about 1 in
3 of the violent victimizations against
American Indians. About 1 in 5 violent
victimizations among American Indians
involved an offender who was an
intimate or family member of the
victim.
100%
100%
100%
100%
55%
58%
50%
62%
45
42
50
38
21%
23%
24
24
27
22
18
17
6
9
4
5
27%
23%
24
25
21
23
17
17
7
9
3
3
116,050
7,484,760
1,336,620
163,520
American Indian victims described the
offender as a stranger in 71% of
robberies, 48% of aggravated assaults,
and 41% of rapes/sexual assaults.
American Indian victims of simple
assault (39%) more often reported the
offender was an acquaintance.
Race of offender
White or black offenders committed
88% of all violent victimizations, 1992
2001 (table 12). Victims identified
Asians or American Indians — classi
fied as other race by NCVS — as the
offender in 13% of the violent acts.
Table 11. Violent victimization of American Indians, by victim-offender
relationship and type of victimization, 1992-2001
Percent of violent victimizations against American Indians
Intimate/
Violent crimes
Total
family members
Acquaintances
Strangers
Total violent victimizations
100%
21%
37%
42%
Rape/sexual assault
100
25
34
41
Robbery
100
15
15
71
Aggravated assault
100
14
38
48
Simple assault
100
25
39
36
8 American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002
When asked the race of their offender,
American Indian victims of violent
crime primarily said the offender was
white (57%), followed by other race
(34%) and black (9%).
Violent crime against white and black
victims was primarily intraracial,
committed by a person of the same
race. Among the white victims of
violence, 70% of the offenders were
white, and among black victims, 80%
were black.
American Indian victims were more
likely to report the offender was from a
different race, compared to blacks and
white victims.
Table 12. Percent of violent victimizations,
by race of victim and offender, 1992-2001
In 66% of the violent crimes in which
the race of the offender was reported,
American Indian victims indicated the
offender was either white or black
(table 13). Nearly 4 in 5 American
Indian victims of rape/sexual assault
described the offender as white. About
3 in 5 American Indian victims of
robbery (57%), aggravated assault
(58%), and simple assault (55%)
described the offender as white.
The offender was described as black
for about 1 in 10 incidents of rapes/
sexual assaults (8%), aggravated
assaults (10%), and simple assault
(9%), and about 2 in 5 robberies
(17%) against American Indian victims
(figure 2).
Race of violent offender
Race of victims
Total
White
Black
Other
All races
100%
61%
27%
13%
American Indians
100
57
9
34
White
100
70
18
13
Black
100
12
80
9
Asian
100
37
28
35
Note: Table excludes an estimated 597,953 victims of violence (3.4%)
who could not describe the offender’s race. “Other” includes American Indians and Asians.
Table 13. Violent victimization of American Indians,
by race of offender and type of victimization, 1992-2001
Percent of American Indian victimizations
Race of
Violent
Rape/sexual
Aggravated
Simple
offender
victimizations
assault
Robbery
assault
assault
Total
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
White
57
78
57
58
55
Black
9
8
17
10
9
Other
34
14
27
32
37
Annual average number
of victimizations
116,050
5,919
9,090
28,104
70,123
American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002 9
Violent victimization of American Indians, by race
of offender and type of victimization, 1992-2001
Rape/sexual assault
Robbery
Aggravated assault
Simple assault
Black
White
Other
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
Percent of violent victimizations of American Indians by race of offender.
Note: “Other” includes American Indians and Alaska Natives, as well as Asians.
Figure 2
Table 14. Violent victimization, by the perceived drug
or alcohol use of the offender and by race of victim, 1992-2001
Race of victim
Perceived drug or alcohol use by offender —
of violence
Total
Alcohol
Drugs
Both
Neither
All races
100%
33%
10%
9%
49%
American Indian
100
48
9
14
29
White
100
34
9
9
49
Black
100
26
11
9
55
Asian
100
27
8
6
60
Note: Table excludes those respondents who were unable to report
whether they perceived the offender to have been using drugs or alcohol.
The less serious the offense, the
higher was the percentage of
American Indian victims describing the
offender's race as other than black or
white.
Alcohol, drugs, and crime
Alcohol (33%) or drug (10%) use,
or use of both (9%), was a factor in
51% of the violent crimes against all
races (table 14). Differences can be
found by race in the victims’ percep
tions of alcohol and drug use by
offenders. Among victims of violence
who were able to describe alcohol or
drug use by offenders, American
Indians (71%) were more likely than
any other racial group to report an
offender under the influence of alcohol
and/or drugs.
Overall, American Indian victims
reported alcohol use by 62% of the
offenders, compared to 42% for all
races. In violent crimes experienced by
American Indians where use was
known, the offender was under the
influence of alcohol (48%), drugs (9%),
or both (14%).
10 American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002
Table 15. Violent victimization, by use of weapon
and race of victim, 1992-2001
Percent of violent victimizations
All
American
Type of crime
races
Indian
No weapon used
73%
69%
Weapon used
27
31
Firearm
11
11
Knife
7
6
Blunt object
5
7
Other weapons
5
7
Weapon use and violent crime
On average, American Indians faced
an offender with a weapon in about a
third of the violent crime incidents from
1992 to 2001 (table 15). In almost 70%
of the violent crimes experienced by
American Indians, the offender did not
use a weapon.
About 11% of American Indian victims
faced an offender with a firearm.
Nearly 6% of the American Indian
victims encountered a knife, and about
7% were victimized with a blunt object
or other weapon.
White
Black
Asian
75%
61%
66%
25
39
34
9
19
16
7
10
9
4
5
5
5
5
5
Victimizations in Indian country
In 1999 the NCVS added a question
to identify housing units on Indian
reservations or Indian lands and to
learn how many victimizations took
place at those locations. The NCVS
sample, however, cannot provide a
representative estimate for all of
Indian country.
From 2000 to 2002 an estimated
93,550 violent victimizations, 0.5%
of all reported violence in the NCVS,
occurred on Indian reservations or
Indian lands. There was an annual
average of 31,180 violent crimes
on Indian reservations or land during
the 3 years. Victims could be of any
race.
Estimated
number of
Per-
Year
victimizations cent
Reservation total
2000
2001
2002
Annual average
victimizations reported
93,550
100%
33,012
35
16,399
18
44,139
47
31,183
American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002 11
1976-2001
Uniform Crime Reporting Program,
Supplementary Homicide Reports,
Findings about homicide come from
the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR)
Program, Supplementary Homicide
Reports, of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI).
Annual number of murders
of American Indians, 1976-2001
Number of murder victims
200
150
100
50
0
1981
1986
1991
1996
2001
Figure 3
Murder among American Indians
On average from 1976 to 2001, each
year about 144 American Indians were
murdered (figure 3). American Indians
represented 0.7% of all murder victims
nationwide, similar to their 0.9% share
of the population (table 16).
An estimated 3,738 American Indians
were murdered from 1976 to 2001.
Detail is available for about 3,208
American Indian murder victims or
about 91% of the total from 1976 to
1999. The remaining analysis is based
on those detailed cases. About 73% of
all American Indian murder victims
were males.
Geography and American Indian
murders
During the 24-year period, 1976-1999,
about 75% of all murders of American
Indians occurred in 10 States in which
61% of the American Indian population
resided in 2000.
Table 16. Murders of American Indians, as a percent of all
American Indians and of all murder victims, by State, 1976-99
States with the
largest number of
American Indian
murder victims
Number
of murders
of American
Indians
Percent of C
All murders
Total American
of American
Indian
Indians
population
American Indians as a
percent of C
All
Total
murder
resident
victims
population
U.S. total
3,208
100.0%
100.0%
0.7%
0.9%
California
425
Oklahoma
374
Alaska
313
North Carolina
297
Arizona
269
Washington
204
New Mexico
192
Minnesota
183
New York
88
Oregon
75
All other States
788
13.2
13.5
0.6
1.0
11.7
11.0
6.3
7.9
9.8
4.0
28.1
15.6
9.3
4.0
2.1
1.2
8.4
10.3
3.9
5.0
6.4
3.8
4.0
1.6
6.0
7.0
7.5
9.5
5.7
2.2
7.0
1.1
2.7
3.3
0.2
0.4
2.3
1.8
2.5
1.3
24.5
39.0
0.2
0.4
Sources: FBI, Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Supplementary Homicide Reports 1976-99;
Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF-1) for resident population data.
12 American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002
Nearly 25% (799) of all American
Indian murders occurred in California
and Oklahoma. Just over 13% of all
American Indian murder victims were
in California, which also accounted for
14% of the American Indian population
nationwide. Oklahoma had 12% of all
American Indian murder victims, a
proportion similar to the State’s
percentage (11%) of the Nation's
American Indian population.
In five States, Alaska (28%), North
Carolina (2%), Washington (4%),
Minnesota (7%), and Oregon (3%) the
proportion of murder victims who were
American Indian exceeded their
proportion of each State's resident
population (figure 4).
American Indian percent of State
murder victims and resident
population, 1997-99
Alaska
North Carolina
Washington
Minnesota
Oregon
Murder victims
Resident population
0%
10%
20%
30%
American Indian percent
of State totals
Figure 4
About 1 in 4 of the murder victims in
Alaska from 1976 to 1999 were Ameri
can Indians. Alaska accounted for
about 10% of all murdered American
Indians and had 4% of the Nation's
American Indian population. American
Indians in Alaska made up about 16%
of the State’s total resident population
and 28% of the murder victims.
Rates of murder
The American Indian murder rate
showed a 45% decline from about 6.6
victims per 100,000 in 1995 to 3.6 in
2001 (figure 5).
Number of American Indian murder
victims per 100,000 persons,
1990-2001
Number of murder v
American Indians
7.5
6
4.5
3
1.5
0
1990 1992 1994
Figure 5
ictims per 100,000
1996 1998 2000
American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002 13
Race of murderers
During 1976 to 1999 in most murder
cases involving a white or black victim,
the offender was the same race as the
victim (table 17). For example, 86% of
white murder victims and 94% of black
murder victims were murdered by an
offender of their respective race.
By comparison, American Indians
(58%) and Asians (60%) were
somewhat less likely to be murdered
by an offender of their own race.
In about 32% of the cases, American
Indians were murdered by a white
offender; in 10%, by a black; and in
1%, by an Asian.
Murder victim-offender relationship
Strangers accounted for 17% of Ameri
can Indian murders (table 18). Ameri
can Indian offenders committed about
1% of all murders from 1976 to 1999
when a prior relationship — family
member or acquaintance — existed
with the victim (table 19). American
Indians, like other racial groups, were
more likely (66%) to be victims of
intraracial homicide when the murderer
was a relative or acquaintance.
Table 17. Murders, by race of offender and victim, 1976-99
Percent of murder victims
All
American
Race of offender
races
Indian
White
Black
Asian
Total
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
American Indian
1
58
1
0
0
White
52
32
86
6
22
Black
46
10
13
94
18
Asian
1
1
1
0
60
Victim and offender of
different races
42%
14%
6%
40%
Number of victims
315,593
2,469
164,377
144,831
3,916
Note: Table excludes cases in which the race of the victim or offender is unknown.
Source: FBI, Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-99.
Table 18. Murders, by victim-offender relationship and race, 1976-99
Percent of murder victims
American
Victim-offender relationship
All races
Indian
White
Black
Asian
Total
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
Victim and offender had prior relationship
79
83
76
83
67
Victim and offender were strangers
21
17
24
17
34
Number of murder victims
299,195
2,405
158,423
134,331
4,036
Note: Table excludes victims with unknown relationship to offender and victims and offenders
of unspecified races.
Source: FBI, Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-99.
14 American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002
Table 19. Murders by a relative or acquaintance, by race of victim
and offender, 1976-99
Percent of murder victims
Race of relative or acquaintance
American
offender
All races Indian
White
Black
Asian
All races
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
American Indian
0.9
66.0
0.6
0.1
0.3
White
51.0
28.0
92.0
4.0
18.5
Black
47.0
6.0
7.0
96.0
6.7
Asian
1.0
0.5
0.4
0.1
75.0
Number of victims murdered by
relative or acquaintance
230,441
2,088
112,920
112,865
2,568
Note: Table excludes victims with unknown relationship for offender and victims and offenders
of unspecified races. Detail may not sum to total because of rounding.
Source: FBI, Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-99.
A third of American Indians murdered
Arrests of American Indians
by an acquaintance or relative were
In 2001 State and local law enforce-
killed by a member of a different race.
ment agencies made an estimated
433,764 arrests for violent crimes
About half of the American Indians
(murder/non negligent manslaughter,
murdered by a stranger were killed by
forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated
a white; a quarter by a black offender.
assault) (table 20).
Table 20. Violent crime arrests, by race, 1991-2001
Number of arrests
of American
Arrests for violent crimes
Indians
American
per 100,000
Year
Total
Indian
White
Black
Asian
persons
1992
640,512
1993
647,448
1994
644,206
1995
618,657
1996
547,519
1997
500,621
1998
479,396
1999
419,473
2000
414,420
2001
433,764
10-year average
534,602
4,635
4,888
5,253
5,238
4,965
4,691
4,575
4,042
4,271
4,345
4,690
343,338
340,237
343,909
336,132
299,010
284,523
276,647
248,120
248,167
260,983
298,107
287,122
296,066
288,133
270,122
236,343
205,823
192,796
162,264
156,718
163,192
225,858
5,417
6,257
6,911
7,165
7,201
5,584
5,378
5,047
5,264
5,244
5,947
216
224
236
232
217
202
194
169
173
159
Note: Violent crime includes murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. The arrest
estimates include adjustments to account for law enforcement agencies that did not report.
Source: FBI, Crime in the United States, 2001, pg. 252, table 43.
American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002 15
American Indians accounted for about
1% of those arrests — an estimated
4,345 arrests (figure 6).
Between 1992 and 2001 the violent
crime arrest rate of American Indians
declined 26%. In 1992 the violent
crime arrest rate was 216 arrests per
100,000 American Indians, and in
2001, 159 per 100,000. The total
number of American Indian arrests for
violent crimes increased 1.7% from
2000 to 2001.
Among arrestees of all ages, the
violent crime arrest rate for American
Arrests of American Indians for
violent crime by State and local law
enforcement, 1992-2001
Arrests for violent crimes
5,250
4,750
American Indians
4,250
3,750
1992
1995
1998
2001
Figure 6
Indians (159 per 100,000) was similar
to the rate for all races (152 per
Slightly less than 14% of American
100,000). Compared to all races,
Indians arrested for violent offenses in
American Indians were less likely (16
2001 were under age 18, similar to
to 27 arrests per 100,000) to be
15% of all violent crime arrestees (not
arrested for robbery but more likely
shown in a table). For violent crimes
(131 to 116) to be arrested for aggra-
except murder, American Indians age
vated assault.
17 or under were less likely to be
arrested than youth of all races.
Table 21. Arrests, by violent crime and age, 2001
Number of arrests per 100,000 population
All ages
Youth, age 17 or under
American
American
All races
Type of violent crime
Indians
All races
Indians
Total of violent crimes
152
159
203
140
Murder
3
4
3
7
Forcible rape
7
8
9
5
Robbery
27
16
55
22
Aggravated assault
116
131
136
106
Sources: FBI, Crime in the United States, 2001. Population estimates are from the
U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2002.
16 American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002
Table 22. Arrests, by alcohol violations, race, and age, 2001
Number of arrests per 100,000 population
Total alcohol violations
Type of violations
1,240
623
American
Indians
All races
All ages
681
362
American
Indians
All races
Youth, age 17 or under
Drunkenness
Liquor laws
Driving under the influence (DUI)
356
148
405
143
479
332
57
42
571
279
52
41
Source: FBI, Crime in the United States, 2001.
Alcohol related arrests
Gangs in Indian country
In 2001 the arrest rate among Ameri
can Indians for alcohol violations —
Youth gang activity in Indian commu
driving under the influence (DUI),
nities is a relatively recent phenom-
liquor law violations, and drunkenness
ena, according to data provided by
— was double the national rate (table
the National Youth Gang Center.6
22). About 1,240 American Indians per
The 2000 Survey of Youth Gangs
100,000 of the population were
(SYGIC) in Indian country collected
arrested for alcohol violations,
information on the presence and
compared to 623 per 100,000 of all
effect of youth gang activity within
persons. American Indian youth age
Indian communities.
17 or under likewise had an alcohol
violation arrest rate (681) nearly double
Overall, about half (52%) of the
that of youth of all races (362).
selected Indian communities
completed the survey, with about
23% (40) indicating an active gang
problem in their community (not
shown in a table). The SYGIC also
provides estimates of members,
causes, gangs in school, gang
migration, crime involvement, and
influence on the community.
6Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention, Youth Gangs in Indian Country ,
March 2004 (NCJ 202714). The web location
is <http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/ojjdp/
202714.pdf>.
American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002 17
American Indians in the Federal
justice system
United States attorneys prosecute
violations of Federal laws in Indian
country. Section 1153 of U.S. Title 18
grants jurisdiction to Federal courts
over Indians who commit any of the
crimes listed under the Major Crimes
Act of 1885, regardless of whether the
victim was an Indian or non-Indian.7
At the Federal level “Indian country”
means all land within the limits of any
Indian reservation under the jurisdic
tion of the United States Government,
including all dependent communities
and Indian allotments as described in
18 USC § 1151.
Data on suspects investigated and
charged in U.S. district court come
from the BJS Federal Justice Statistics
Program (FJSP). The data do not
identify the race of suspects but do
identify whether the offense occurred
in Indian country. The Executive Office
for U.S. Attorneys constructed the
original database using its Central
System File, fiscal year 2000.
718 U.S.C. § 1153. Some exemptions apply in
PL 280 jurisdictions and where other unique
statutes impact Indian country.
Investigations
Criminal referrals or "matters" are
submitted to the U.S. attorneys by
Federal investigative agencies — Drug
Enforcement Agency, FBI, and Bureau
of Indian Affairs — and State and local
investigative agencies. The U.S. attor
ney decides the appropriateness of
bringing criminal charges and may initi
ate prosecution.
In fiscal year 2000 U.S. attorneys
investigated an estimated 123,559
suspects in matters from across the
United States for violation of Federal
laws (table 23). Just under 2% (2,074)
were for alleged offenses occurring
in Indian country.
About 6,036 of all new suspects
in 2000 were investigated for violent
offenses.8 The 1,525 suspects investi
gated for violent offenses in Indian
country represented 25% of all Federal
investigation for violent offenses in
fiscal year 2000.
8Bureau of Justice Statistics, Compendium
of Federal Justice Statistics, 2000, <http://
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/cfjs00.htm>.
Table 23. Suspects in matters
investigated by U.S. Attorneys,
by offense, 2000
Percent of suspects
investigated
Type of offense
Total
All offenses
100%
Violent
4.9
Property
23.0
Drugs
31.5
Other
40.6
Number of offenses 123,559
Source: BJS, Federal Justice Stat
Indian
country
100%
73.5
12.5
0.9
9.5
2,074
istics
Program (FJSP), Executive Office for U.S.
Attorneys, Central System File, fiscal year
2000.
18 American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002
Violent crimes were the majority of
offenses investigated by U.S. attor
neys in Indian country in fiscal year
2000. Just under 75% of suspects
investigated in Indian country involved
a violent crime, compared to the
national total of 5%.
The number of Indian country suspects
investigated by U.S. attorneys for
violence declined 21% from 1,927
in 1997 to 1,525 in 2000.
In 2000 about 25% of the Indian
country suspects were investigated
for property, drug, or other offenses.
The majority of suspects investigated
from Indian country were in the judicial
districts of South Dakota, Arizona, New
Mexico, Montana, and North Dakota.
About half of the total 2,074 investiga
tions were in the judicial districts of
South Dakota and Arizona (figure 7).
Charges filed
At the conclusion of the investigation
of a criminal matter, U.S. attorneys
may decline prosecution, file criminal
charges in a U.S. district court, or refer
the matter to a U.S. magistrate or a
State jurisdiction.
In fiscal year 2000 U.S. attorneys investigated 2,074 suspects (not only
American Indians) for offenses committed in Indian country
Distribution of Indian country suspects investigated, by Federal court district —
Number of investigations
None
1 to 49
50 to 99
100 or more
Source: BJS Federal Justice Statistics Program, Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys,
Central System File, fiscal year 2000.
Figure 7
American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002 19
In fiscal year 2000, U.S. attorneys filed
77,990 criminal cases in all Federal
district courts (table 24). About 1%
(924) of all the cases filed involved
cases in Indian country.
About 3,688 charges for violent
offenses were filed in U.S. district court
during fiscal year 2000. The 677 Indian
country cases represented about 18%
of all defendants charged with a violent
crime.
Among Indian country offenses, violent
crimes accounted for the majority of
the offenses charged during fiscal year
2000. An estimated 73% of all charges
filed in U.S. district courts for Indian
country offenses were for violent
crimes, compared to the national total
of about 5% (figure 8).
Compared to the number of Federal
district court filings for violent crimes
(60,403) in fiscal year 1997, the fiscal
Indian country suspects were more
likely to be charged in U.S. district
court for violent crimes relative to other
offenses. About 27% of the Indian
country suspects charged with
offenses in U.S. district court in 2000
were for property, drug, or other
offenses.
About 3 in 5 criminal cases (924) filed
in U.S. district court in Indian country
during fiscal year 2000 were in the
judicial districts of Arizona (202), South
Dakota (176), Montana (113), and New
Mexico (107) (not shown in a table).
American Indians entering
Federal prisons
Between fiscal years 1994 and 2001,
on an annual average, about 751
American Indians entered Federal
prison following convictions for violent
offenses.
924
Drugs
Vi
All
ly
ged
2000
i
i i
i
i
l
i
l year 2000
0%
40%
60%
80%
year 2000 estimate (77,990) repre
sented a 29% increase in 3 years. The
number of charges filed against Ameri
can Indians for violent crimes
increased 27% from 1997 to 2000.
77,990
Number of
offenses
15.3
36.4
Other
2.1
39.3
9.4
19.5
Property
73.3
4.7
olent
100.0%
100.0%
offenses
Indian country
cases on
All cases
Type of offense
Percent of offenses char
Table 24. Criminal cases filed in U.S.
district courts, by type of offense,
Figure 8
Percent of criminal cases filed in U.S.
district courts, by most serious
offense charge, 2000
Source: BJS Federal Just ce Stat st cs
Program; Execut ve Off ce for U.S. Attorneys,
Central System Fi e, f sca
Other
Drugs
Property
Violent
20%
Percent of offenses charged
Indian country
Total (U.S.)
20 American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002
These data come from the BJS
violent offenders entering Federal
Federal Justice Statistics Program,
prison has remained stable since 1996
using a database constructed by the
— about 15%.
Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).9
In 2001 BOP was responsible for the
confinement of over 171,000
offenders. In fiscal year 2001 about
69,900 offenders entered Federal
prison (table 25). An estimated 2.4%
(1,662) of the offenders entering
Federal prison were American Indians.
About 5,881 violent offenders entered
Federal prison during fiscal year 2001.
American Indians were 16% (913) of
all offenders entering Federal prison
for violent crimes (figure 9). The
American Indian proportion of all
9BJS, Compendium of Federal Justice
Statistics, 2001, November 2003 (NCJ 201627)
See <http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/
cfjs01.htm>.
Figure 9
i
i i
i
l
fi
l year 1994-2001.
1998
2000
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
i
American Indians as percent of all
violent offenders entering Federal
prisons, 1994-2001
Source: BJS Federal Just ce Stat st cs
Program; Bureau of Pr sons Sentry Fi e,
sca
1994
1996
Percent of entries to
American Indians
Federal prison for v olent offense
Table 25. Offenders entering Federal prison,
by race and offense type, 1994 and 2001
Offenders entering Federal prison
American
Type of offense
All races
Indian
White
Black
Asian
Persons entering prison in 2001
All offenses
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
Violent
8.4
54.9
4.4
13.3
5.1
Property
16.1
17.1
14.7
18.0
35.7
Drug
40.1
12.2
38.9
45.3
27.3
Other
35.4
15.8
42.0
23.5
31.9
Total number
69,900
1,662
45,398
21,919
921
Persons entering prison in 1994
All offenses
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
100.0%
Violent
12.3
59.7
10.2
12.8
4.6
Property
25.8
16.8
28.1
22.6
32.2
Drug
50.4
13.0
55.6
45.8
29.6
Other
11.5
10.6
6.1
18.8
33.6
Total number
37,854
865
21,781
14,556
652
Note: Excludes prisoners for whom race was unknown.
Source: BJS, Federal Justice Statistics Program; Bureau of Prisons Sentry file, 1994 and 2001.
American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002 21
American Indians were more likely to
be serving a sentence for a violent
offense than Federal prisoners of other
races. In fiscal year 2001, 55% of
American Indians entering Federal
prison were serving a sentence for a
violent crime, compared to 4% of white
offenders, 13% of black offenders, and
5% of Asian offenders.
Recidivism among American Indian
prisoners released in 1994
BJS conducted a study of recidivism
among persons released from prisons
in 15 States, accounting for two-thirds
of all released State prisoners in
1994.10
This study followed a sample drawn to
represent 272,111 former inmates
for 3 years after their release.
10BJS, Recidivism of Prisoners Released
in 1994, June 2002 (NCJ 193427) . See
<http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/
rpr94.htm>.
It measured their rates of arrest,
conviction, sentencing to prison, and
reincarceration (with or without a new
sentence) (table 26).
An estimated 1,712 of the former
inmates in this study were American
Indians, about 1.0% of all the inmates
in the study. The American Indian
inmates were discharged from prisons
in 12 of the 15 States in the study:
Arizona
Maryland
New York
California
Michigan
North Carolina
Florida
Minnesota
Ohio
Illinois
New Jersey
Oregon
The American Indians were in prison
for a variety of offenses, virtually all
felonies. Nearly 27% of the American
Indians leaving prison in 1994 served
time for violent offenses, 32% for
property offenses, 18% for drugs, and
22% for public-order offenses.
Table 26. Prisoners released from prison in 12 States in 1994,
by race and offense
Number of released offenders
Percent of released offenders
Most serious offense
American
American
for which released
All races
Indians
All races
Indians
Total
272,111
1,712
100%
100%
Violent
61,225
Property
91,157
Drug
88,708
Public-order
26,395
Other
4,626
458
22.5
26.7
555
33.5
32.4
305
32.6
17.8
383
9.7
22.4
11
1.7
1.0
Note: Public-order offenses include DWI/DUI, weapons offenses, traffic offenses, probation
violation, parole violation, obstruction of justice, habitual offender, and contributing to
delinquency of a minor. “Other” includes offenses unknown. Total number of prisoners
represent two-thirds of all released prisoners across the United States in 1994. No data
on American Indians released in 1994 were available for Delaware, Texas, or Virginia.
Source: BJS, Recidivism of Prisoners Released in 1994.
See <www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/rpr94.htm>.
22 American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002
American Indian recidivism rates at
different lengths of time after release
Within the first 6 months of their
release, 26% of the 1,712 American
Indian offenders were arrested for
new crime — a felony or serious
misdemeanor (table 27).
By the end of 36 months from their
release, an estimated 60% of the
1,712 American Indians were arrested,
47% convicted, and 21% sentenced to
prison for a new felony or serious
misdemeanor.
Most new arrests and convictions
occurred within the first year of
release. About 45% were arrested
again within 1 year, and 25% were
convicted for a new crime.
Arrest. An estimated 60% of Ameri
can Indians released from prison in
1994 were arrested for a new crime
within 3 years (table 28). Fifty-three
percent of the American Indians
released for violent offenses were
arrested for a new crime.
Table 27. Recidivism of American Indian prisoners released
in 1994 from prison in 12 States, by time after release
Percent of American Indians released from State prison in 1994
Time after release
Arrested
Convicted
Sentenced to prison
6 months
25.5%
1 year
44.7
2 years
56.6
3 years
60.1
11.6%
3.6%
24.6
8.9
35.7
14.1
46.6
21.3
Total number of inmates
1,023
735
323
Note: Excludes inmates lacking information on a precise time of subsequent contact with
the criminal justice system.
Table 28. Prisoners released in 1994, by offense, race, arrest, and conviction
Within 3 years of release, percent of prisoners
Arrested
Convicted
Most serious offense
American
American
for which released
All races
Indians
All races
Indians
Total released prisoners
67.5%
59.6%
46.9%
46.3%
Violent
61.7
52.6
39.9
40.1
Property
73.8
82.4
53.4
76.8
Drug
66.7
46.6
47.0
29.9
Public-order
62.2
47.7
42.0
23.9
Total arrested/convicted
183,674
1,024
127,620
792
Note: Table excludes 2 prisoners whose conviction status was not available. New crimes included
either a felony or serious misdemeanor.
Source: BJS, Recidivism of Prisoners Released in 1994.
See <www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/rpr94.htm>.
American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002 23
Conviction. A total of 47% of the
American Indians released from prison
in 1994 were convicted in State or
Federal court for a new crime within 3
years. About 40% of American Indian
violent offenders leaving prison were
convicted for a new crime of any type.
Sentenced to prison for new
crime. About 1 in 5 American Indians
released from prison in 1994 were
sentenced to a new prison term for the
commission of a new felony or serious
misdemeanor (table 29). An estimated
16% of American Indians released
from prison in 1994 for a violent
offense were sentenced to prison for a
new crime within 3 years.
Returned to prison with or without
a new sentence. More than half of
American Indians released from prison
in 1994 were back in prison because
they received another sentence or
because they violated a technical
condition of their release — for
example, failing a drug test, failing to
meet their parole officer, or being
rearrested for a new crime.
Past violent crimes and recidivism
Twenty-nine percent of the American
Indian violent offenders released in
1994 were arrested for a new violent
offense (not shown in table). Within 3
years of release, about 15% of the 75
American Indian violent offenders
released for murder were arrested for
another murder.
Table 29. Prisoners released in 1994 and returned to prison by race
Within 3 years of release, percent returned to prison
Sentenced for new crime
With or without new sentence
Most serious offense
American
American
for which released
All races
Indians
All races
Indians
Total offenses
25.4%
Violent
20.4
Property
30.5
Drug
25.2
Public-order
21.6
21.3%
51.8%
57.1%
16.2
48.8
52.1
39.3
56.4
76.0
12.7
49.2
37.5
7.9
48.0
47.7
Total sentenced to prison
69,116
361
140,953
806
Note: Excludes 291 cases where the sentencing information for new crime was unknown.
Sentences to State or Federal prison only. These data do not include local jails.
Source: BJS, Recidivism of Prisoners Released in 1994.
See <www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/rpr94.htm>.
24 American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002
American Indians and capital
Between 1977 and 2002, a total
punishment, 1973-2002
of 820 persons were executed,
including 8 American Indians
Capital punishment data are col-
(1% of those executed).
lected annually as part of the
National Prisoner Statistics program.
Table 30. American Indians under
Data collected on persons under sen-
sentence of death, 1973-2002
tence of death are obtained from the
All
American
department of corrections in each juris-
races
Indians
diction authorizing capital punishment.
Sentenced to death,
Information on the status of death
1973-2002
7,254
60
penalty inmates is reported as of the
Executed, 1977-2002
820
8
last day of the calendar year. Data
Percent
11.3%
13.3%
include Federal inmates.
Removed from death
row by means other
Over the period 1973-2002, 7,254
than execution
2,877
25
persons were sentenced to death
Percent
39.7%
41.7%
in the United States; 60 were American
Remaining under
Indians (table 30).
sentence of death,
2002
3,557
27
Percent
49.0%
45.0%
Table 31. Capital punishment among American Indians,
by State and status, 1973-2002
Total
Under a
sentenced
Sentence
sentence
States
to death,
1973-2002
Executed
Died from
other causes
overturned
or commuted
of death,
12/31/2002
U.S. total
60
8
1
24
27
Alabama
1
1
Arizona
4
1
1
2
California
7
1
6
Delaware
1
1
Florida
1
1
Georgia
1
1
Idaho
1
1
Maryland
1
1
Montana
3
2
1
Nebraska
2
2
New Mexico
1
1
North Carolina
15
8
7
Ohio
2
2
Oklahoma
16
4
1
6
5
Oregon
1
1
Tennessee
1
1
Texas
1
1
Utah
1
1
Percent of total
sentenced to death
100%
13%
2%
40%
45%
American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002 25
Among the 7,254 persons sentenced
Indian country criminal justice
to death, 3,557 were still under a death
sentence at the end of 2002 — 49%
Data on tribal law enforcement and
of those entering death row over the
jails in Indian country come from the
period. For American Indians, 27 of the
Census of State and Local Law
60 (45%) sentenced to death between
Enforcement Agencies and the Survey
1973 and 2002 still remained under a
of Jails in Indian Country.
death sentence at the close of 2002.
Tribal law enforcement
About half of all death sentences
imposed on American Indians from
In 2000 American Indian tribes
1973 to 2002 were in North Carolina
operated 171 law enforcement
(15) and Oklahoma (16). As of Decem-
agencies.11 Tribally operated law
ber 31, 2002, North Carolina (7) had
enforcement agencies in Indian
the largest number of American
country employed a total of 2,303
Indians under a sentence of death
full-time sworn officers:
(table 31).
• The five largest tribally operated law
Forty-two percent of American Indians
enforcement agencies vary in reserva
ever under a sentence of death, 1973-
tion land area, as well as in the
2002, were removed from deathrow
number of full-time sworn personnel
by means other than execution.
per 100 square miles (table 32).
About 40% (24) of the American
• About 88% of the tribally operated
Indians sentenced to death from 1973-
law enforcement agencies participated
2002 had their sentence overturned or
11BJS, Tribal Law Enforcement, 2000,
commuted.
January 2003 (NCJ 197936).
See <http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/tle00.htm>.
Table 32. The 5 largest tribally operated law enforcement agencies,
by number of full-time personnel and land area, 2000
Full-time sworn
Full-time
personnel
Reservation
Agency name and
sworn
(per 100
land area
headquarters location
personnel
(square miles)
square miles)
Navajo Nation Department
of Law Enforcement (AZ)
321
22,174
1
Tohono O’odham Tribal Police
Department (AZ)
76
4,453
2
Seminole Department of Law
Enforcement (FL)
67
<1
...
Gila River Indian Community
Law Enforcement (AZ)
58
584
10
Oglala Sioux Tribal Police
Department (SD)
58
3,159
2
Note: Land area data are extracted from the Census 2000, which includes reservation land only.
...Not applicable.
26 American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002
in crime prevention activities and
executed arrest warrants (not shown in
table).
• About 1 in 4 tribal police agencies
operated one or more jails.
Jails in Indian country
American Indian tribes and the Bureau
of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of
Interior, operate 70 jails in tribal areas.
In 2002 these confinement facilities,
detention centers, or other correctional
facilities had a rated capacity to house
about 2,177 adult and juvenile inmates
(table 33).
On June 28, 2002, 2,080 American
Indians were under correctional super
vision in Indian country facilities.12
About 2,006 (96%) of the American
Indians under correctional supervision
in Indian country were inmates, and 74
(4%) were under community supervi
sion (which included probation and
parole).
A total of 711 jail operation staff —
correctional officers, guards, and other
staff who spent more than 50% of their
time supervising inmates — worked in
the jails in Indian country on June 28,
2002. The average guard-to-inmate
ratio for all tribes in Indian country is
one jail staff member to three inmates.
Five reporting jails had a guard-to-
inmate ratio of 1 to 10 or higher.
The majority (86%) of the offenders
were confined in Indian country jails
for misdemeanors. About 20% (408)
of the offenders were held for
nondomestic violent offenses. Approxi
mately 11% or 226 of the offenders in
Indian country jails were confined for a
DWI or DUI (either drugs or alcohol).
Juvenile jails in Indian country
Among the 70 jails (confinement facili
ties, detention centers, or other correc
tional facilities) in tribal areas, 10 jails
were designated as juvenile facilities
(table 34). On June 28, 2002, the
juvenile facilities were supervising 180
juveniles and 5 adults being held for
the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
The 10 juvenile facilities had a rated
capacity to hold 341 inmates. On June
28, 2002, the juvenile jails were
operating at 54% of capacity. As in all
other jails in Indian country, a majority
(62%) of the offenders were held for
misdemeanors. About 10% of the
inmates in the juvenile jails were held
for felonies and 29% for other
offenses, which include status
offenses, unknown charges, and
court orders.
A total of 188 jail correctional officers
and other staff who spent more than
50% of their time supervising inmates
worked in the juvenile jails. The
average officer to inmate ratio for all
juvenile jails was one-to-one. Several
tribes had more officers than inmates
at midyear 2002.
12BJS, Jails in Indian Country, 2002, (NCJ 198997).
See <hhtp://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/jic02.htm>.
American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002 27
Table 33. Tribal adult jail capacity and staff, by State and tribe, 2002
Number of inmates
Inmates in
Rated
Jail opera-
Guard-
State
Tribal affiliation
custodya
capacityb
tions staffc
inmate ratiod
Total
2,006
2,177
711
1 to 3
Alaska
Metlakatla Indian Community
0
10
5
Arizona
Navajo Natione
Colorado River Indian Tribes
Fort Mohave Indian Tribe
White Mountain Apache Tribe
Hopi Tribe
Tohono O'odham Nation
Gila River Indian Community
Salt River Pima-Maricopa
Indian Community
San Carlos Apache Tribe
Hualapai, Havasupai, Prescott
Apache and Tonto Apache
Supai Tribe
Pascua Yaqui Tribe
220
221
77
1 to 2
30
36
12
1 to 3
2
3
0
60
46
14
1 to 4
85
96
8
1 to 11
116
56
41
1 to 3
219
252
94
1 to 2
51
56
35
1 to 1
72
48
/
50
45
5
1 to 10
7
12
0
0
4
5
Colorado
Southern Ute Tribe
40
48
20
1 to 2
Ute Mountain Ute Tribe
16
54
15
1 to 1
Idaho
Shoshone-Bannock Tribe
17
25
8
1 to 2
Michigan
Lake Superior Band of
Chippewa
6
4
2
1 to 3
Minnesota
Red Lake Chippewa Tribe
38
22
9
1 to 4
Mississippi
Mississippi Band of Choctaw
Indians
28
40
15
1 to 2
Montana
Blackfeet Tribe
Crow Tribe
Gros Ventre and Assiniboine
Tribe
Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes
Northern Cheyenne Tribe
Chippewa-Cree Tribe
Confederated Tribes of Salish
and Kootenai
26
69
19
1 to 1
14
14
9
1 to 2
5
8
4
1 to 1
29
38
22
1 to 1
29
19
4
1 to 7
7
15
4
1 to 2
14
20
10
1 to 1
Nebraska
Omaha Tribal Police
Department
29
32
8
1 to 4
Nevada
Shoshone-Paiute Tribes
13
27
6
1 to 2
New Mexico Jicarilla Apache Tribe
Laguna Pueblo
Mescalero Apache Tribe
Taos Pueblo
Ramah Navajo
Zuni Pueblo
Navajo Natione
29
46
12
1 to 2
22
22
5
1 to 4
21
24
2
1 to 11
17
8
6
1 to 3
5
10
7
1 to 1
20
34
12
1 to 2
61
53
16
1 to 4
28 American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002
Table 33. (continued)
Number of inmates
Inmates in
Rated
Jail opera-
Guard-
State
Tribal affiliation
custodya
capacityb
tions staffc
inmate ratiod
North Dakota Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe
26
34
6
1 to 4
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
56
50
5
1 to 11
Turtle Mountain Chippewa
Tribe
22
30
5
1 to 4
Three Affiliated Tribes of
Fort Berthold Reservation
22
8
6
1 to 4
Oklahoma
Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma
36
60
38
1 to 1
Sac and Fox Nation
4
5
1
1 to 4
Oregon
Warm Springs Confederated
Tribes
58
44
17
1 to 3
South Dakota Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe
Crow Creek Sioux Tribe
Oglala Sioux Tribe
Rosebud Sioux Tribe
Sisseton-Wahpeton
Sioux Tribe
35
55
37
1 to 1
14
12
4
1 to 4
107
78
18
1 to 6
34
68
6
1 to 6
22
22
3
1 to 7
Utah
Northern Ute Tribe
7
22
4
1 to 2
Washington
Chehalis Indian Tribe
Makah Indian Tribe
Puyallup Tribe
Quinault Tribe
Spokane Tribe
Confederated Tribes
of Yakama Nation
5
8
5
1 to 1
8
13
1
1 to 8
4
8
7
1 to 1
6
12
7
1 to 1
5
10
3
1 to 2
47
50
9
1 to 5
Wisconsin
Menominee Indian Tribe
52
45
14
1 to 4
Wyoming
Shoshone and Arapahoe Tribe
38
26
4
1 to 10
/Not reported.
aAdults and juveniles confined in jail facilities on June 28, 2002.
bRated capacity is the maximum number of beds or inmates assigned by a rating
official to a facility. Excludes temporary holding areas.
cIncludes correctional officers, guards, and other staff who spend more than
50% of their time supervising inmates.
dIncludes the number of jail operation staff to the relative number of inmates
(inmates in custody divided by number jail operation staff) rounded to the whole number.
eData for the Navajo Department of Corrections-Window Rock in Arizona and Shiprock
in New Mexico are based on custody population on June 29, 2001. Jail operation staff data
were not provided for Window Rock or Shiprock. Domestic violence and other violent offenses
were not collected on June 29, 2001. Facility staffing was not collected on June 29, 2001.
Source: BJS, Jails in Indian Country, 2002. See <www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/jic02.htm>.
American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002 29
Table 34. Tribal juvenile jail capacity, number in custody,
offense seriousness, and staff, by State and tribe, 2002
Walter Miner Law Enforce
ment Center-Juvenile
Klyuska O'Tipi
Reintegration Centere
South Dakota
Sac & Fox Nation Juvenile
Detention Facility
Oklahoma
Navajo Department of
Corrections-Tohatchi
Juvenile Center
New Mexico
White Buffalo Youth
Detention Center
Fort Peck Indian Youth
Services Center
Montana
Western Navajo Juvenile
Services
Tohono O'odham Judiciary
Juvenile Detention
Center
Gila River Juvenile
Detention and
Rehabilitation Center
Chinle Youth Corrections
Arizona
Total
State
3
9
36
3
6
13
26
15
61
13
185
Inmates in
custodya
Number of
10
0
3
0
10
3
0
3
6
32
38
24
11
1
60
8
0
3
0
14
10
6
0
0
24
13
0
10
3
16
24
23
3
0
36
12
0
7
8
22
46
0
61
0
100
24
0
13
0
27
188
53
114
18
341
operations
staffd
Seriousness of offense
Felony
Misdemeanor Otherc
Rated
capacityb
Jail
Number of juveniles in custody
juveniles
aJuveniles confined in jail facilities on June 28, 2002.
bRated capacity is the maximum number of beds or inmates assigned
by a rating official to a facility. Excludes temporary holding areas.
cIncludes inmates being held for status offenses, unknown charges, court.
dIncludes correctional officers, guards, and other staff who spend more
than 50% of their time supervising inmates.
eCustody number includes 5 adults being held for the BOP.
30 American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002
Highlights: Tribal criminal victimization
The Umatilla Indian Reservation
All
ibes
0
imi
ions
other tr
20
40
60
80
100

Number of violent vict
zat
All victimizations
Alcohol related
• About 90 respondents from the
All CTUIR tribes
Umatilla Indian Reservation said they
had experienced a violent crime over
Umatilla
the prior 12 months.
• More than half of the victims of
violence in the Umatilla tribal reserva-
Nez Perce
Yakama
tion reported alcohol use by their
offender.
The Southern Ute Indian Reservation
0
imi
ions
Other SUIR Indians
Southern Ute
All SUIR tribes
20
40
60
80
100

Percent of violent vict
zat
All victimizations
Alcohol related
• About 58 SUIT respondents said they
had experienced 106 violent crimes
over a prior 12 months.
• 49 of the 106 SUIT victims of
violence reported alcohol and/or drug
use by the offender.
The Zuni Pueblo Indian Reservation
ing
i
l
20%
40%
partner viol
i
lo
Threats
Emotional
Stalk
Sexual
Phys ca
0%
60%
Type of abuse
Percent of domestic
ence reported
by Zun Pueb
• About 30% of the Zuni Pueblo Indian
respondents indicated they had been
victims of domestic partner violence in
the previous 12 months.
• Among the victims of domestic
violence, respondents were more likely
to identify emotional or physical abuse
than stalking or sexual abuse.
American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002 31
Summary report of three American
Indian criminal victimization
surveys
Introduction
Because of size and design, nationally
representative surveys such as the
NCVS do not provide estimates of
crime and victimization for individual
American Indian tribes or Alaska
Native villages.
To address this information gap, BJS
awarded three grants to study the
characteristics and circumstances of
violent victimization in selected Indian
country jurisdictions. These surveys
were specifically designed to capture
data about the role of alcohol in violent
victimizations and the characteristics
of domestic violence. The surveys
covered three American Indian juris
dictions:
• Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian Reservation (CTUIR)
• Southern Ute Indian Tribe (SUIT)
• Zuni Pueblo Indian Tribe
The results of the individual criminal
victimization surveys cannot provide
generalizations about the entire Ameri
can Indian reservation population or
even other parts of Indian country, but
they do provide a view of violent crime
as experienced by the respondents in
the participating tribes. Although not
based on a probability sample, each
local tribal survey incorporated the
methodological approach most condu
cive to the reservation under study and
accessibility to tribal members.
The following provides a synopsis of
each of the three studies. Detailed
findings and complete datasets can be
obtained by contacting the organization
that conducted the studies (see page
41 for contact information).
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian Reservation (CTUIR) Criminal
Victimization Survey
The National Indian Justice Center
conducted a victimization survey
among the Confederated Tribes on the
Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) in
northeastern Oregon. The CTUIR is a
federally recognized tribe with an
estimated reservation population of
2,400 tribal members.13 The Umatilla
Reservation spans a total of nearly
172,140 acres.14
Three primary tribal groups of Ameri
can Indians compose the CTUIR:
Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla
tribes. Residents from other American
Indian tribes and non-Indians also live
on the CTUIR.
13CTUIR, See <www.umatilla.nsn.us>
14Veronica Tiller, Tiller’s Guide to Indian
Country (1996).
32 American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002
Methodology The CTUIR survey
collected information about incidence,
prevalence, and characteristics of
violent crimes as viewed by respon
dents.
Data were collected on the tribal affilia
tion of American Indians living on or
near the reservation, the role of alcohol
and drugs in victimizations, and report
ing to police by victims.
The study design did not include
probability sampling. Based on the
purpose of the study and the amount
of access to the tribal population, the
most effective method of obtaining
responses from across the tribe was
an advertisement in the free and widely
read tribal newspaper Umatilla Journal.
One hundred and three American
Indians age 18 or older, living on or
near the CTUIR, took part in the
survey (table 35). The following analy
sis excludes non-Indian respondents.
The CTUIR survey respondents repre
sented about 9% of the total population
of American Indians living on or near
the CTUIR (table 36).
The majority (64%) of the survey
respondents were members of the
CTUIR — Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla
Walla tribes.
Three other groups of American Indian
respondents were represented in the
study. Yakama (12%), Nez Perce
(10%), and other American Indians
described as all other tribes (15%) live
on or near the CTUIR. All other tribes
included Blackfeet, Cherokee,
Cocopah, Colville, Grand Ronde,
Navajo, Ponca, Shoshone-Paiute Duck
Valley, Spokane, Warm Springs, and
Yorok.
The CTUIR study provides measures
of violent victimizations (categorized as
nondomestic violent crimes and
domestic violent crimes), and property
crimes. Property crimes are not
analyzed in this report.
Violent victimization is a combined
category of all violent crimes (non
domestic and domestic) occurring
within the previous 12 months.
Survey respondents reported a total of
88 violent victimizations during the
Table 35. CTUIR violent victimization respondents, by tribal affiliation, 2001
Respondents
Violent victimizations
Tribe
Number
Percent
Number
Percent
Total
103
100%
88
100%
Umatilla
66
Yakama
12
Nez Perce
10
All other tribes
15
64
52
59
12
8
9
10
13
15
15
15
17
Note: A total of 88 violent victimizations (nondomestic violent and domestic violent
crimes) were reported by 67 respondents. Umatilla includes Cayus, Umatilla, and
Walla Walla tribes. All other tribes include Blackfeet, Cherokee, Cocopah, Colville,
Grand Ronde, Navajo, Ponca, Shoshone-Paiute Duck Valley, Spokane, Warm Springs,
and Yorok. Several victims reported multiple victimizations, and each reported violent
act is counted as a separate offense.
American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002 33
Table 36. Violent victimizations of CTUIR American Indians
age 18 or older, by gender, age, residence, and tribal affiliation, 2001
Number of victimizations
All CTUIR
All other
Total
victimizations
Umatilla
Yakama
Nez Perce
tribes
Total
Gender
Males
Females
Age
18 to 24
25 to 34
35 to 44
45 to 54
55 or older
Residence
Government housing
Rural
Off reservation
88
30
58
9
26
29
20
4
29
34
22
52
8
15
1
37
7
4
2
17
2
10
4
18
0
3
0
19
4
21
1
11
3
13
15
9
5
4
10
0
3
4
3
8
7
1
1
0
1
2
4
8
4
3
5
Note: Residence counts excludes one victimization from "Umatilla" and two from
"all other tribes" in which residence was unknown. Umatilla includes Cayus, Umatilla,
and Walla Walla tribes. All other tribes include Blackfeet, Cherokee, Cocopah, Colville,
Grand Ronde, Navajo, Ponca, Shoshone-Paiute Duck Valley, Spokane, Warm Springs,
and Yorok. Figures exclude respondents who did not report age or residence and may
not total number of victimizations.
previous 12 months. Almost two-thirds
of all respondents indicated they had
been victims of a violent crime.
Twenty-one of the victims had experi
enced both domestic and nondomestic
violence.
The Umatilla were victims in about 52
of the reported violent victimizations;
the Yakama in 8, the Nez Perce in 13,
and all other tribes in 15.
Gender, age, and location of residence
of victims of violent crime
CTUIR American Indian males were
victims of violent crimes in 34% of the
victimizations reported by the partici
pants. Umatilla Indian males reported
more violent victimizations than males
from other tribes. The Nez Perce living
on or near the CTUIR were the only
tribe with more male than female
participants and the only tribe in which
males reported more violent victimiza
tions than females. The majority (66%)
of the reported 88 violent victimizations
were committed against women.
Among age groups, the largest
number of participants who reported
victimizations were between ages 35
and 44 (29).
More survey participants age 18
or older who reported being victimized
resided in the rural areas (34) of the
CTUIR, followed by those in govern
ment sponsored housing (29) and
those living off the reservation (22).
34 American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002
Table 37. CTUIR violent victimizations, by offense type and tribal affiliation, 2001
Number of victimizations by tribal affiliation
All CTUIR
All other
Type of victimization
tribal
Umatilla
Yakama
Nez Perce
tribes
Total violent offenses
88
Nondomestic violence
52
Domestic violence
36
52
8
13
15
34
4
5
9
18
4
8
6
Note: All other tribes include members of the Blackfeet, Cherokee, Cocopah, Colville, Grand
Ronde, Navajo, Ponca, Shoshone-Paiute Duck Valley, Spokane, Warm Springs, and Yorok tribe.
The number presented in table represents a count of all the specific offenses reported.
The majority (59%) of the 88 victimiza
tions reported in the CTUIR study were
nondomestic violent crimes (table 37).
Nondomestic violent crimes in this
study referred to assaults, sexual
assault, battery, and threats/intimida-
tion by someone other than an adult
family or household member. Domes
tic violence included the same
offenses committed by an adult family
or household member.15
Over half (34) of all nondomestic
violent crimes were perpetrated
against Umatilla tribe members,
15Definition comes from the Statutes of the
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian
Reservation, July 1999 Compilation, Volume 1,
Criminal Code § 75A-Domestic Abuse.
compared to 18 against all other
Indians living on or near the CTUIR.
The same pattern held for domestic
violence victimizations, with Umatilla
participants reporting half the total.
Alcohol related violent victimizations
In about 3 in 5 of all violent victimiza
tions, the victims indicated they knew
or reasonably suspected the perpetra
tor was drinking alcohol. About 31 out
of 52 nondomestic victimizations were
committed by an offender drinking
alcohol (not shown in table). Among all
domestic violence victims, most (22
out of 36) said the perpetrator was
drinking. About 62% of the participants
reporting victimization by alcohol
related violence said they lived with the
offender.
0
i
ictimi
Violent victimizations and alcohol involvement, by tribal affiliation
All other tribes
Nez Perce
Yakama
Umatilla
All CTUIR tribes
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90

Number of v olent v
zations
Total victimizations
Alcohol related
Figure 10
American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002 35
Southern Ute Indian Tribe (SUIT)
Community Safety Survey
The Southern Ute Indian Tribe (SUIT)
is a federally recognized tribe with an
estimated reservation population of
1,500 tribal members. The Southern
Ute Indian (SUI) Reservation spans
about 818,000 acres.16
The term Southern Ute in this report
denotes respondents who identified
themselves as being Southern Ute
Indian, Ute Mountain Ute, or Northern
Ute. The SUI Reservation has Indians
from other tribes and non-Indians living
on or near the reservation.
Methodology The SUIT criminal
victimization study collected informa
tion on the prevalence and characteris
tics of crime and victimization
occurring on the SUI Reservation. It
also collected information on the tribal
affiliation of the American Indians living
on or near the reservation, perceptions
about crime in general, the role of
alcohol and drug use in victimizations,
and victim’s reports of crimes to police.
16Veronica Tiller, Tiller’s Guide to Indian
Country (1996) and <http://www.southern-ute.
nsn.us>.
The survey design involved sampling
all SUIT members who appeared on
the tribal enrollment roster. Voluntary
participation was encouraged from
respondents across the SUI Reserva
tion by an advertisement placed in the
tribal newspaper The Drum and aired
on the tribal radio station KSUT. A $10
monetary incentive was also offered.
Three hundred and twelve Indians
(269 Southern Ute and 43 non-
Southern Ute Indians) age 18 or older,
living on or near the SUI Reservation,
took part in the data collection (table
38).
Data on non-Indians have been
excluded from this summary. The
SUIT respondents represent about
30% of the total target population age
18 or older living on or near the SUI
Reservation.
The SUIT survey also provides
measures of violent victimization, both
domestic and nondomestic. However,
the conceptual measures are not
comparable to the CTUIR since each
study used different question formats,
sampling procedures, and methods of
data collection. The victimizations
reported have been coded to reflect
Table 38. Southern Ute Indian Reservation violent victimizations,
by tribal affiliation, 2001
Violent victimizations
Respondents
domestic and nondomestic)
Tribe affiliation
Number
Percent
Number
Percent
Total
312
100%
106
100%
Southern Ute*
269
86
88
83
Other Indian tribes
43
14
18
17
Note: A total of 106 victimizations (other violent and domestic violent crimes) were reported
by 58 respondents. Other Indian denotes American Indians living on or near the Southern Ute
Indian Reservation that participated in the criminal victimization survey which does not include
Southern Ute, Ute Mountain Ute, or Northern Ute Indians.
*Include Ute Mountain Ute and Northern Ute.
36 American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002
Table 39. Southern Ute Indian Reservation violent victimizations
against American Indians, by gender, age, and residence
Number of violent victimizations
All SUIT
Southern
Other
Total
Indians
Ute
Indians
Total
106
88
18
Gender
Males
32
24
8
Females
74
64
10
Age
18 to 29
46
35
11
30 to 40
29
25
4
41 to 50
12
11
1
51 to 60
14
14
0
60 or older
3
1
2
Residence
Southern Ute Indian Tribe Reservation
52
47
5
Other reservation
2
1
1
Rural
5
3
2
City or town
32
25
7
Note: Excludes 2 Southern Ute Indians who indicated age
less than 18, and 15 respondents who did not indicate residence.
similar categories to allow for consis-
12 months. The SUIT study allowed
tent presentation of the data.
the respondents to report multiple
incidents of several types
Fewer than 1 in 5 of the respondents
of crime.
who participated in the SUIT study
indicated they were victims of any kind
The Southern Ute, who comprised
of violent crime within the past 12
most of the respondents, also
months. SUIT data show that between
accounted for most of the violent
2001 and 2002 about 58 American
victimizations reported. Southern Ute
Indian respondents 18 or older living
Tribal members were victims in about
on or near the SUI Reservation
88 of the violent victimizations reported
reported being victimized in the last
by participants; 18 violent victimiza
year.
tions were reported by American
Indians from "other Indian tribes."
Violent victimization in this study
includes incidences of threats with a
Gender, age, and victims’ location
weapon, assaults, and sexual assaults
of residence
by persons who may or may not reside
with the victims. Of the total number
SUIT males reported less than a third
of victims (58), 23 indicated they were
of all the violent victimizations (table
victims of multiple violent offenses.
39). A total of 32 victimizations were
reported by males age 18 or older
The victims reported a total of 106
on the SUI Reservation.
violent victimizations as defined by the
study occurring within the previous
American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002 37
SUIT females reported the majority
of the violent victimizations within the
previous 12 months. A total of 74
violent crimes were committed against
women of the SUIT age 18 or older.
Women were over-represented among
the study respondents.
Among age groups, 46 violent crime
victims were between ages 18 and 29.
The Southern Ute (35) and American
Indians from other tribes (11) both had
the highest number of victimizations
reported for persons ages 18-29,
followed by those ages 30-40.
Almost half (52) of the SUIT partici
pants age 18 or older who reported
being victimized resided on the
reservation.
Types of violent crime on the SUI
Reservation
Seven in ten of the 106 victimizations
reported in the SUIT study were
nondomestic violent crimes (table 40).
These nondomestic violent crimes in
the SUIT survey includes assaults,
sexual assaults or rapes, battery, and
threats with a weapon by someone
other than an adult family or household
member. Domestic violence includes
the same offenses committed by an
adult family or household member.
The SUIT participants reported 74
“nondomestic violent victimizations”
and 32 of the victimizations described
as domestic violence. The Indians of
the SUI Reservation reported twice as
many nondomestic violent crimes as
domestic victimizations.
Over half (58) of all “nondomestic
violent victimizations” reported were
perpetrated against Southern Ute tribe
members, compared to 16 for all other
American Indians living on or near the
reservation. A similar pattern held for
domestic violence victimizations, with
Southern Ute participants reporting the
Table 40. Southern Ute Indian Reservation total of violent victimizations,
by offense type and tribal affiliation
Number of violent victimizations
All SUI Reserva-
Southern
Other
Type of victimization
tion Indians
Ute
Indians
Total separate offenses
Violent nondomestic
Domestic violence
106
88
18
74
58
16
32
30
2
38 American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002
Violent victimizations involving drugs and alcohol
related victimization, by tribal grouping
All SUI Reservation tribes
Southern Ute
Other Indians
Alcohol related
Total
0
20
40
60
80
100

120

Number of violent victimizations
Figure 11
majority of the victimizations commit
ted by a person living in the home with
the victim.
Alcohol related violent victimizations
In 49 of the 106 violent victimizations
reported, the victims indicated they
knew or reasonably suspected that the
perpetrator was on drugs or drinking
alcohol at the time of the victimization
(figure 11).
American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002 39
Zuni Pueblo Indian Reservation
Criminal Victimization Survey
The American Indian Development
Associates conducted a Criminal
Victimization Survey (CVS) on the Zuni
Pueblo Indian Reservation, located in
northwest New Mexico. The Pueblo of
Zuni is a federally recognized tribe with
an estimated tribal enrollment of 9,800
and resident population of 11,000. The
Zuni reservation covers approximately
407,247 acres.18
The Zuni CVS obtained information
about incidents, prevalence, and
characteristics of violent crimes as
viewed from respondents who
completed the survey. While this study
may not be used to make generaliza
tions for all of Indian country, it
provides a view of violent crime as
experienced by the participants.
About 691 American Indians age 13 or
older, living on or near the Zuni Pueblo
Indian Reservation took part in the
survey. The Zuni CVS respondents
represented about 10% of the total
population of American Indians living
on or near the reservation. About half
of the surveys were self administered,
and half were face-to-face interviews.
This study provides measures of
violent victimization, both domestic and
nondomestic, and property crimes.
Violent victimization is a measure of
the total number of violent crimes,
including nondomestic violence and
domestic violence occurring during a
12-month period and reported by
American Indians living on or near the
Zuni reservation.
18eronica Tiller, Tiller’s Guide to Indian
Country (1996).
About 173 (25%) respondents were
victims in 518 incidents of assault
on or near the Zuni reservation within
the 12 months before the survey. An
estimated 30% of the respondents
indicated some type of domestic
abuse within the past 12 months.
Gender, age, and location of violent
crime
Zuni Pueblo males were less likely
than females to report being victims
of an assault. The majority of the
reported violent victimizations were
committed against women. At all age
levels, American Indian women of the
Zuni Pueblo made up a large number
of victims of assault than men of the
same age. Among the age groups,
most Zuni participants who reported
being assaulted were between ages 18
and 59. Nine in ten assaults occurred
on the reservation.
Alcohol related violent victimizations
For the Zuni reservation victims of
assault, alcohol and drug use by the
offender was a factor in about 69% of
the incidents.
Respondents age 18 or older were
asked about incidents of domestic
violence in the last 12 months.
Women of the Zuni Pueblo Indian
Reservation were slightly more likely
than men to report domestic violence.
Of those responding to the question,
about 30% indicated they were the
victims of emotional, physical, and/or
sexual abuse at the hands of someone
they lived with. More victims of domes
tic abuse reported being emotionally or
psychologically abused (44%) than
40 American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002
physically abused (38%) by someone
whom they lived with during the past
12 months.
Among the age groups, women
respondents age 60 or older (29%)
were nearly twice as likely to be victims
of domestic violence as men (16%) of
the same age. Alcohol or drug use by
the offender was a factor for 3 in 5 of
the incidents of domestic violence
reported on the Zuni reservation.
Copies of the full reports on criminal
victimization on the Confederated
Tribes of the Umatilla, Southern Ute,
or Zuni Pueblo Indian Reservations
can be obtained by contacting the
respective authors at —
1). The National Indian Justice Center
Joseph Myers, Project Director
Re: Umatilla Indian Reservation
Victimization Study
5250 Aero Drive
Santa Rosa, California 95403
Phone: (707) 579-5501
E-mail: Nijc@aol.com
2). Department of Criminology,
Law, and Society
Julie C. Abril, Project Manager
Re: Southern Ute Community Safety
Study
School of Social Ecology
University of California, Irvine
Irvine, California 92697
Phone: (949) 824-5575
E-mail: Jabril@uci.edu
3). American Indian Development
Associates
Ada Pecos Melton, Principal
Investigator
Re: Zuni Pueblo Criminal Victimiza-
tion Survey
2401 12th Street, NW
Suite 212
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87104
Phone: (505) 842-1122
E-mail: Mail@aidainc.net
American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002 41
Sources of data on American
Indians and crime
One of the challenges facing all
Federal statistical agencies is that
representative statistical data about
American Indians are difficult to
acquire and use. This is true for a
number of reasons with respect to
crime data:
Sampling — Most Federal surveys
utilize nationally representative
samples of persons or households,
thus limiting the capability to describe
small population subgroups in detail.
(American Indians comprise under 1%
of the U.S. population.) In addition,
sampling procedures, relying upon
selection of respondents within
clustered geographical sampling units,
may by chance miss those areas
where concentrations of residences of
small subgroups (such as American
Indians) may be located. Finally,
frequent population movement
between tribal and nontribal areas for
both Indians and non-Indians makes it
difficult to systematically describe
those living in these areas.
The design of national surveys such as
the NCVS does not permit calculating
separate statistics for each American
Indian tribe.
Coverage of data — Statistical cover
age of incidents or cases in Indian
country utilizing law enforcement,
judicial, or corrections data is difficult
to quantify because Federal, State,
and local authorities may have overlap
ping jurisdiction on tribal lands. Data
about some crimes are collected by
the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in
Indian country while other
crimes by or against American Indians
are recorded by local sheriffs or police.
Arrest data are profoundly limited by
the lack of information on arrest cover
age among tribal and BIA law
enforcement agencies.
Census 2000 and American Indians
For the 2000 Census, respondents
were able to report one or more races
they considered themselves and other
household members to be. Because of
these changes, Census 2000 data on
race are not directly comparable with
data from the 1990 Census or earlier.
Caution should be used when inter
preting changes in the racial composi
tion and or the computation of statistics
using these population estimates.
Census data on race can be presented
in three modes: “race alone, race in
combination, and the race alone and in
combination.” The violent crime rates
presented in this report are based on
the race alone population data, where
applicable. See the Census web site
for additional information
<www.census.gov>.
National Crime Victimization Survey
The National Crime Victimization
Survey (NCVS) is one of two statistical
series maintained by the Department
of Justice to learn about the extent to
which crime is occurring. The NCVS,
which gathers data on criminal victimi
zation from a national sample of
household respondents, provides
annual estimates of crimes experi
enced by the public without regard to
whether a law enforcement agency
was called about the crime. Initiated in
1972, the NCVS was designed to
complement what is known about
42 American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002
crimes reported to local law enforce
ment agencies under the FBI's annual
compilation known as the Uniform
Crime Reports (UCR).
The NCVS gathers information about
crime and its consequences from a
nationally representative sample of
U.S. residents age 12 or older
about any crimes they may have
experienced. For personal contact
crimes the survey asks about the
perpetrator. Asking the victim about
his/her relationship to the offender is
critical to determining whether the
crime occurred between intimates.
In the latter half of the 1980's, BJS,
with the Committee on Law and
Justice of the American Statistical
Association, sought to improve the
NCVS components to enhance the
measurement of crimes including rape,
sexual assault, and intimate and family
violence. The new questions and
revised procedures were phased in
from January 1992 through June 1993
in half the sampled households. Since
July 1993 the redesigned methods
have been used for the entire national
sample.
One of the important contributions of
the NCVS is that it permits multiple
years of responses to the same
questions to be analyzed, facilitating
research on small subgroups of the
population. For this study, 10 years of
NCVS data (1992-2001) were
combined, resulting in more than 1.8
million interviews, just over 13,000 of
which were conducted among Ameri
can Indians. This represents the
largest national sample of American
Indians assembled for purposes of
better understanding the incidence and
effects of criminal victimization.
The estimate for the annual average
number of observations estimate
represents the total number of victimi
zations reported during the 10 year
data collection (219.4 million) divided
by 10. The annual average rate reports
the number of victimizations per 1,000
persons for the entire 10 year period.
The annual average percent figure
represents the proportion of all
victimizations recorded over the 10
years period with a specific character
istic. For additional information
see the NCVS BJS website
<www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/cvict.htm>.
Uniform Crime Reporting program
The UCR program of the FBI provides
another opportunity to examine the
issue of crime and violence among
American Indians through the incident-
based Supplementary Homicide
Report program and the summary
compilation of national arrest data
published in the Crime in the United
States series. The summary based
arrest component of the UCR provides
data by race of arrests for both Part I
crimes and the less serious Part II
crimes.
American Indians are estimated to
account for just under 1% of those
arrested for Part I violent crimes. Part
II arrest offenses show that American
Indians comprise larger percentages of
those arrested for DUI, vagrancy,
liquor law violations, and public
drunkenness. Exact UCR coverage of
arrests by tribal or BIA law enforce
ment agencies is not known, and the
extent to which they are included in the
American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002 43
national estimates of arrests is not
systematically described.
Federal Justice Statistics Program
The Federal Justice Statistics Program
(FJSP) provides annual data on
workload, activities, and case
outcomes in the Federal criminal
justice system. Information is reported
on all aspects of case processing in
the Federal justice system including
the number of persons investigated,
prosecuted, convicted, incarcerated,
sentenced to probation, released prior
to trial, handled by magistrates,
sentencing outcomes, and time
served. Data for this series are
obtained from the Executive Office for
U.S. Attorneys, the Administrative
Office of the U.S. Courts, and the
Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). Data
are available by defendant race and
ethnicity at each processing stage of
the Federal criminal justice system.
The FJSP was initiated in 1980. For
additional information on the UCR see
the FBI website at the URL below
<www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm#cius>.
The data describing offenders entering
Federal prison come from the BJS
Federal Justice Statistics Program,
using a database constructed by the
BOP. The database provides informa
tion on all sentenced offenders admit
ted to or released from Federal prison
during a fiscal year and on offenders in
prison at the end of each fiscal year.
These data only include people in
federally-operated facilities. BOP
operates 103 institutions and 28
community corrections offices through
out the United States (BOP, About the
Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2001).
Recidivism of Prisoners in 1994
This study of recidivism tracked
272,111 former inmates for 3 years
after their release in 1994. The
272,111 represents a weighted
two-thirds of all prisoners released in
the United States that year. The study
uses four measures of recidivism:
rearrest, reconviction, resentence to
prison, and return to prison with or
without a new sentence.
Three of the recidivism measures —
rearrest, reconviction, resentence to
prison — are based exclusively on
official criminal records kept in State
and FBI criminal history repositories.
One recidivism measure — return to
prison with or without a new prison
sentence — is formed from a combina
tion of records from criminal history
repositories plus prison records kept
by State departments of corrections.
Persons selected for inclusion in the
study had to meet all four of these
criteria:
• A RAP sheet on the prisoner was
found in the State criminal history
repository.
• The released prisoner was alive
through the 3-year follow-up period.
• The prisoner's sentence (or, as it is
called in the database, the "total
maximum sentence length") was
greater than 1 year (missing sentences
were treated as greater than 1 year).
• The prisoner's 1994 release was not
recorded by the State department of
corrections as any of the following
release to custody/detainer/warrant,
absent without leave, escape, transfer,
administrative release, or release on
appeal. See the BJS website
44 American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002
<www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/
rpr94.htm>.
Law Enforcement Management
and Administrative Statistics
BJS maintains the Law Enforcement
Management and Administrative
Statistics (LEMAS) series as the princi
pal national source of data on the
operations of police and sheriff's
departments nationwide. LEMAS
compiles information every 3 to 4
years from all large law enforcement
agencies (at least 100 sworn person
nel) and a sample of all other depart
ments.
To ensure an accurate sampling frame
for its LEMAS survey, BJS periodically
sponsors a census of State and local
law enforcement agencies. The 2000
census included State and local
agencies employing the equivalent of
at least one full-time officer with
general arrest powers. This report
summarizes the findings of the census,
which was co-sponsored by COPS. As
in 1992 and 1996, the 2000 census
collected data on the number of sworn
and nonsworn personnel, including
both full-time and part-time employees.
Data were collected from agencies that
employed at least one sworn officer or
the part-time equivalent at the time of
the census. The reference period for
all data is the pay period that included
June 30, 2000.
LEMAS data are obtained on the
organization and administration of law
enforcement agencies, agency respon
sibilities, operating expenditures, job
functions, weapons policies, and
demographic characteristics of sworn
personnel. BJS obtains similar
information from campus law enforce
ment agencies and Federal law
enforcement agencies. LEMAS data
are available on the race and ethnicity
of law enforcement personnel since
1987. See <www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/
abstract/csllea00.htm>.
Survey of Jails in Indian country
The 2002 Survey of Jails in Indian
Country (SJIC) includes all jails,
confinement facilities, and other deten
tion centers located in Indian country
and operated by tribal authorities or the
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), U.S.
Department of the Interior.
BJS conducts the Survey of Jails in
Indian Country (SJIC) to describe all
adult and juvenile jail facilities and
detention centers in Indian country. For
purposes of this report, Indian country
includes reservations, pueblos,
rancherias, and other appropriate
areas (18 U.S.C. sec 1151). The refer
ence date for the most recent survey is
June 28, 2002. The SJIC was initiated
in 1998 as a component of the Annual
Survey of Jails (ASJ). The ASJ is
conducted in each of the years
between the Census of Jails. The 2002
ASJ consisted of a sample survey of
826 local jail jurisdictions, a survey of
the Nation's 50 multi-jurisdictional
facilities, and a survey of the 70 facili
ties in Indian country.
In 1998 the Office of Law Enforcement
Services, provided a complete list of
74 Indian country jail facilities. The list
included detention centers, jails, and
other correctional facilities, operated
by tribal authorities or the BIA. The
facilities are in 19 States and are affili
ated with 55 tribes. Data were obtained
by mailed questionnaires. Through
American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002 45
follow-up phone calls and facsimiles,
68 of 70 facilities responded. See
<http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/
abstract/jic02.htm>.
National Prisoner Statistics program
(NPS-8).
Capital punishment information is
collected annually as part of the
National Prisoner Statistics program
(NPS-8). This data series is collected
in two parts: data on persons under
sentence of death are obtained from
the department of corrections in each
jurisdiction currently authorizing capital
punishment; and information on the
status of death penalty statutes is
obtained from the Office of the Attor
ney General in each of the 50 States,
the District of Columbia, and the
Federal Government. Data collection
forms and more detailed tables are
available on the BJS website
<www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/
cp02.htm> and in the Correctional
Populations in the United States —
Statistical Tables, also on the website.
NPS-8 covers all persons under
sentence of death at any time during
the year who were held in a State or
Federal nonmilitary correctional facility.
Included are capital offenders trans
ferred from prison to mental hospitals
and those who may have escaped
from custody. Excluded are persons
whose death sentences have been
overturned by the court, regardless of
their current incarceration status.
The statistics reported in this report
may differ from data collected by other
organizations for a variety of reasons:
(1) NPS-8 adds inmates to the popula
tion under sentence of death not at
sentencing but at the time they are
admitted to a State or Federal correc
tional facility; (2) If inmates entered
prison under a death sentence or were
reported as being relieved of a death
sentence in one year but the court had
acted in the previous year, the counts
are adjusted to reflect the dates of
court decisions and (3) NPS counts
are always for the last day of the
calendar year and will differ from
counts for more recent periods.
See <www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract
/cp02.htm>.
Tribal Criminal History Improvement
Pilot Program
In 2004 BJS implemented the Tribal
Criminal History Record Improvement
Pilot Program (T-CHRI) which will
provide support to federally recognized
tribes and State criminal records
repositories to promote participation in
and improve the interface among
tribal, State, and national criminal
records systems. Criminal records are
a chronological history describing
offenders and their contacts with the
criminal justice system. Such records
include offender fingerprint identifica
tion and notations of arrest and subse
quent dispositions. Criminal records
may also include records of protection
orders, sex offender registries, and
other records of contacts with the
justice system. Criminal record
systems depend on up-to-date
automated fingerprint identification
systems to ensure that transactions
are accurately identified to the proper
individual and to ensure linkage of
records across jurisdictions.
The goal of the T-CHRI Pilot grant
program is to improve public safety
46 American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002
in Indian country by enhancing the
quality, completeness, and
accessibility of criminal history record
information and by ensuring the imple
mentation of criminal justice and
non-criminal justice background check
systems.
American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002 47

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Society of Indian Psychologists Records, 1976-2020

Collection ID	apap390
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Last indexed	2025-07-30

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American Indians and Crime, Statistical Report, 2004 December

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