Various professional disciplines are represented on the Tribal Elder Protection Team (EPT), one of which is law enforcement. This page defines the roles and responsibilities of a law enforcement officer EPT member. This representative is designated as the main contact for law enforcement services. You may want to recruit this representative from your local tribal law enforcement agency or choose a Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) agent or a federal or state official. Recruit officers who have a vested interest in Elder case investigations. The law enforcement officer roles include but are not limited to:
- Being a designated representative from the agency who participates in regular EPT meetings or arranges for an alternate when the representative is unavailable.
- Providing information about the EPT to his/her agency staff to increase awareness and referrals.
- Responding to crisis situations. Each team member may be assigned “on-call” duties during nights and weekends and can make and accept referrals to the EPT.
- Coordinating medical and emergency response to Elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation situations.
- Making client referrals to the EPT for collaboration of additional community services essential to the well-being of an elderly person.
- Sharing client information with the EPT, when appropriate.
- Collaborating with EPT representatives to detect, investigate, intervene, and prevent additional abuse and help minimize further trauma to the Elder.
- Providing expert input of reviewed cases and follows up with the elderly persons to ensure resolution of concerns and that situations have improved.
- Providing a brief client summary report during designated EPT meetings.
- All members should use a standard case summary form, which they will complete and submit to the EPT coordinator for review prior to meetings.
- Providing support and validation/assistance to other EPT members.
Abuse may make it harder for an older person to stand up for his/her rights. It is often more difficult for people to disclose abuse by relatives and friends than abuse by strangers. People who have been victims of Elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation may be unwilling to report the abuse or have the abusers prosecuted. The victims may:
- Believe the abuse is their fault
- Be ashamed that their children/partner are harming them
- Be dependent on the abuser for income and social networks
- Fear legal punishment
- Worry about losing their family
- Fear retribution or revenge from the abuser
- Worry about having to rebuild their finances if they leave the situation
These issues must be taken into account when responding to reports of Elder abuse. It is important to be mindful that cultural factors may affect perceptions of Elder abuse and approaches to problem solving among people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
All federally recognized Indian tribes that do not reside in states governed by Public Law 280 [67 Stat. 588 (1953)] are required to maintain a three-pronged (executive, legislative, and judicial) democratic government. This includes a law enforcement agency as part of its judicial arm. Indian reservations located in states governed by Public Law 280 are usually policed by local city or county law enforcement agencies and are required to have a democratic government in place. The type of crime often determines who has criminal jurisdiction. Most tribal police departments have jurisdiction only over misdemeanors and ordinances found in the tribal code. Felonies fall under the jurisdiction of either the BIA Law Enforcement Services or the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
| Offender |
Victim |
Jurisdiction |
| Indian |
Indian |
Federal jurisdiction for felonies listed in Major Crimes Act 18 U.S.C. 1153; Tribal jurisdiction for misdemeanors; no jurisdiction for felonies not in 1153. |
| Indian |
Non-Indian |
Federal jurisdiction for felonies listed in 1153; felonies and misdemeanors not listed in 1153 (including assimilative crimes) unless the tribe has already punished the defendant; Tribal jurisdiction for misdemeanors. |
| Non-Indian |
Indian |
Federal jurisdiction for felonies and misdemeanors, including assimilative crimes. |
| Non-Indian |
Non-Indian |
State jurisdiction applies for both felonies and misdemeanors. |
| Indian |
Victimless Crime |
Tribal jurisdiction applies in most cases; Federal jurisdiction applies in some cases. |
| Non-Indian |
Victimless Crime |
State jurisdiction applies in most cases; Federal jurisdiction applies in some cases. |
Tribal codes authorize law enforcement to perform certain duties within the boundaries of the reservation. These duties include responding to calls for service, enforcing tribal laws and ordinances, and maintaining order on the reservation. Power is vested in law enforcement by the members of the tribal community. When tribal members observe officers acting in a positive, unbiased manner, the officers earn the trust and confidence of the community. When this is accomplished, they become more respected and accepted by the majority of the tribal members.
Most descriptions of law enforcement in Indian Country indicate a rural working environment with rural-style policing. Many tribal communities operate with no more than three officers and as few as one officer on duty at any given time. Tribal communities have a government-to-government relationship with the U.S. They have significantly more scope for policy-making than individual U.S. cities or states. Tribal nations adopt constitutions, write civil and criminal laws to regulate conduct within their territorial boundaries, and enforce these laws with their own judicial systems.
Departments in Indian Country face these challenges with a limited resource base. Existing data suggest that tribes have between 55% and 75% of the resource base that is available to non-Native communities. This disparity may stem from the unique culture, geography, and economics on Native American reservations, such as: limited administrative and technological resources available to tribal police departments, inadequate coordination between tribal and federal agencies, and management problems common to tribal and BIA police departments. These disparities create a crisis in reservation policing.
The experience and research on community policing is congruent with the findings on effective governing institutions in Indian Country. Community policing provides a framework that tribes can use to design and implement new Native approaches to policing. These approaches help align police priorities and values with those of the community, improve the quality of policing in Indian Country, and strengthen the tribe as a whole.
Operation Golden Shield
Operation Golden Shield is a voluntary program. It has successfully provided protection and prevention of Elder abuse and neglect through the Anadarko Agency. Officers make random, friendly visits to vulnerable adults in response to the growing concerns of Elder abuse and neglect. Initially, 27 vulnerable Elders received a friendly visit from officers. In order to accomplish this task, each officer made three to four Elder visits per shift. If Elder abuse was suspected, the officer reported back to the BIA Law Enforcement Agency office and then enlist Tribal Social Services for assessment.
