Sec. 801. Findings and purposes

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Congress finds that— 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; more than 4 in 5 American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced violence in their lifetime; the vast majority of American Indian and Alaska Native victims of violence—96 percent of women victims and 89 percent of male victims—have experienced sexual violence by a non-Indian perpetrator at least once in their lifetime;

Indian Tribes exercising special domestic violence criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians pursuant to section 204 of Public Law 90–284 ( 25 U.S.C. 1304 ) (commonly known as the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968 ), restored by section 904 of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 ( Public Law 113–4 ; 127 Stat. 120), have reported significant success holding violent offenders accountable for crimes of domestic violence, dating violence, and civil protection order violations;

Tribal prosecutors for Indian Tribes exercising special domestic violence criminal jurisdiction report that the majority of domestic violence cases involve children either as witnesses or victims, and the Department of Justice reports that American Indian and Alaska Native children suffer exposure to violence at one of the highest rates in the United States; childhood exposure to violence can have immediate and long-term effects, including increased rates of altered neurological development, poor physical and mental health, poor school performance, substance abuse, and overrepresentation in the juvenile justice system; 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; in some areas of the United States, Native American women are murdered at rates more than 10 times the national average; according to a 2017 report by the Department of Justice, 66 percent of criminal prosecutions for crimes in Indian country that United States Attorneys declined to prosecute involved assault, murder, or sexual assault; investigation into cases of missing or murdered Indigenous women is made difficult for Tribal law enforcement agencies due to a lack of resources, including a lack of— necessary personnel, training, equipment, or funding; interagency cooperation; appropriate laws in place; and access to Federal law enforcement databases; domestic violence calls are among the most dangerous calls that law enforcement receives; the complicated jurisdictional scheme that exists in Indian country— has a significant impact on public safety in Indian communities; according to Tribal justice officials, has been increasingly exploited by criminals; and requires a high degree of commitment and cooperation among Tribal, Federal, and State law enforcement officials; restoring and enhancing Tribal capacity to address violence against women provides for greater local control, safety, accountability, and transparency;

Indian Tribes with restrictive settlement Acts, such as Indian Tribes in the State of Maine, and Indian Tribes located in States with concurrent authority to prosecute crimes in Indian country under the amendments made by the Act of August 15, 1953 (67 Stat. 590, chapter 506), face unique public safety challenges; and Native Hawaiians experience a disproportionately high rate of human trafficking, with 64 percent of human trafficking victims in the State of Hawai’i identifying as at least part Native Hawaiian.

The purposes of this subtitle are— to clarify the responsibilities of Federal, State, Tribal, and local law enforcement agencies with respect to responding to cases of domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, sex trafficking, sexual violence, crimes against children, and assault against Tribal law enforcement officers; to increase coordination and communication among Federal, State, Tribal, and local law enforcement agencies; to empower Tribal governments and Native American communities, including urban Indian communities and Native Hawaiian communities, with the resources and information necessary to effectively respond to cases of domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, sex trafficking, sexual violence, and missing or murdered Native Americans; and to increase the collection of data related to missing or murdered Native Americans and the sharing of information among Federal, State, Tribal, and local officials responsible for responding to and investigating crimes impacting Indian Tribes and Native American communities, including urban Indian communities and Native Hawaiian communities, especially crimes relating to cases of missing or murdered Native Americans.

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