PABLO — September 20th, 2007 marked the renewal of a unique, interagency law enforcement agreement between the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and most of the non-tribal law offices on the Flathead Reservation.
The agreement between the tribes, counties and municipalities of the Flathead Reservation is “a protocol for law enforcement … that provides for issuing of traffic tickets” and other minor citations, without distinguishing the tribal status of the persons involved, said Assistant State Attorney General Sarah Bond.
The arrangement allows officers from any of the cooperative jurisdictions to respond to, and cite, misdemeanor crimes.
On other reservations, only tribal police can write tickets for tribal members, while violations such as traffic stops by non-tribal individuals require a highway patrol officer.
With the cooperation of the various law agencies on the reservation, the nearest officer to a reported crime may stop and attend to the situation. If the alleged perpetrator is a tribal member, a citation is issued to tribal court. If they are non-tribal, they are sent to civil court.
“This agreement does not change jurisdiction,” emphasized Bond, but it does allow for cross-jurisdictional enforcement.
According to Montana’s Attorney General Mike McGrath, this arrangement is unique.
Before 1994, when the agreement was first signed, tribes had little jurisdictional oversight of misdemeanor crimes on their reservation lands, while felony crimes were prosecuted by federal agents.
Tribes lost that element of self-governance, according to Flathead Communications Director Robert McDonald, through the passage of
Public Law 280. The law, enacted during Eisenhower administration, “greatly expanded non-tribal jurisdiction and control over criminal activity on tribal lands,” said McDonald.
In 1968, that law was amended to return the “transfer of power” to the tribes, and disallowed further dilution of tribal rule unless so voted by the people.
As McDonald put it, “the system’s always hurt us, and been a place to hurt us.” But that was changed in 1994, when the first interagency law-enforcement agreement was codified.
“It was kind of controversial when it first started,” Bond said.
But now “it works extremely well,” added McGrath.
Cooperation between the tribes and municipalities has grown since the first formal agreement was signed.
McGrath said the “big deal” with the slate of current signatories is the inclusion of Lake County.
While they have been cooperating with the interagency policy in practice, they had declined during the last signing to be an official participant. This time around, all four counties and most cities and towns within the reservation boundaries joined the law enforcement sharing arrangement.
Another unique feature of law enforcement on the Flathead Reservation, according to Bond, is that every officer is POST-certified. The certification stands for Peace Officer Standards and Training requirements, and involves schooling and practical training in law enforcement.
“That’s a pretty high standard,” said Bond. “It’s a great thing that we have that.”
At Thursday’s ceremony, representatives of all the cooperating municipalities and agencies involved, save Missoula County, were present. Missoula County commissioners had penned their approval earlier, and sent up their signatures.
Tribal Chairman James Steele added, “We hope that Polson will join us soon in this agreement.”
The renewal ceremony began with a prayer by Tribal Council member Reuben Matthias. Addressing the many officers present, Matthias, a former CSK Public Defender and law enforcement agent with the Yakima tribe, said, “I appreciate what you do. I know the dangers out there.”
“The key to good law enforcement is cooperation,” stated McGrath.
“The relationship between law enforce agencies in this area is very good. It works to keep this community safe.”
Concluded Steele, “It’s not a race based thing.”
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