Rounds asks fellow Dakotan for Great Plains tribal officer training academy

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum made same request as N.D. governor

Sen. Mike Rounds renewed his request for the Department of Interior to establish a permanent tribal law enforcement training center in the Great Plains region Monday.

Rounds, in a letter to new Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, said the current facility in Artesia, New Mexico is a barrier to recruiting law enforcement officers in Indian Country, with recruits having to travel a far distance and being separated from family. And he noted that a shortage in law enforcement personnel is leading to safety concerns on several reservations.

“Many law enforcement leaders believe providing additional training options on the Great Plains could help build greater law enforcement capacity throughout the region,” Rounds wrote. “Therefore, I respectfully ask you work with Congress to identify a list of potential training sites.”

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