Sec. 901. Findings and purposes

336 words·~2 min read·/bill/115/hr/6545/ih/section-901

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Congress finds the following: On some reservations, Indian women are murdered at more than 10 times the national average. American Indians and Alaska Natives are 2.5 times as likely to experience violent crimes—and at least 2 times more likely to experience rape or sexual assault crimes—compared to all other races. More than 4 in 5 American Indian and Alaska Native women, or 84.3 percent, have experienced violence in their lifetime. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, homicide is the third leading cause of death among American Indian and Alaska Native women between 10 and 24 years of age and the fifth leading cause of death for American Indian and Alaska Native women between 25 and 34 years of age.

According to a 2010 Government Accountability Office report, United States Attorneys declined to prosecute nearly 52 percent of violent crimes that occur in Indian country. Investigation into cases of missing and murdered Indian women is made difficult for tribal law enforcement agencies due to a lack of resources, such as— necessary training, equipment, or funding; a lack of interagency cooperation; and a lack of appropriate laws in place. The complicated jurisdictional scheme that exists in Indian country— has a significant negative impact on the ability to provide public safety to Indian communities; has been increasingly exploited by criminals; and requires a high degree of commitment and cooperation among tribal, Federal, and State law enforcement officials.

The purposes of this title are— to clarify the responsibilities of Federal, State, tribal, and local governments with respect to responding to cases of missing and murdered Indians; to increase coordination and communication among Federal, State, tribal, and local law enforcement agencies; to empower tribal governments with the resources and information necessary to effectively respond to cases of missing and murdered Indians; and to increase the collection of data related to missing and murdered Indian women and the sharing of information among Federal, State, and tribal officials responsible for responding to and investigating cases of missing and murdered Indians.