Reservation crime has attention of South Dakota's reps in Washington, D.C.

At least three South Dakota tribes have now declared public safety emergencies

South Dakota’s congressional delegation is calling on the Biden administration to do more to help Indian tribes combat rising crime on their reservations.

U.S. Sens. Mike Rounds and John Thune and Rep. Dusty Johnson have sent a letter to Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland urging the agency address an increasing public safety crisis and the lack of law enforcement resources on reservations in South Dakota, requesting she work with the Department of Justice to provide more resources to tribal law enforcement agencies.

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“The current situation presents a serious threat not only to tribal police officers but also to all law-abiding citizens in reservation communities,” reads the letter signed by the three Republicans.

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Dated Dec. 14, the correspondence is the latest call for action among South Dakota’s representatives on Capitol Hill. Earlier this month, Johnson formally requested a Congressional committee conduct field hearings on “the dismal state of law enforcement,” saying it’s the top concern among tribal leaders on South Dakota’s nine reservations.

This followed Oglala Sioux Tribal President Frank Star Comes Out declaring a state of emergency last November on the reservation that has only 33 officers to respond to more than 100,000 emergency calls each year.

In July 2022, the tribe sued the Department of Interior, “alleging the U.S. is not complying with its treaty obligations nor its trust responsibility by failing to provide adequate law enforcement to address the ‘public safety crisis’ on the reservation,” according to the Associated Press. That case is still pending.

In the meantime, conditions have worsened, with at least three tribes in South Dakota having declared public safety emergencies.

“Since the writing of our last letter, tribal law enforcement leaders have reported an increase in violent and drug-related crime. It is critical the Department of the Interior consider the severity of the current situation,” the latest letter from Thune, Rounds, and Johnson reads.