Pascua Yaqui Deploys Tribal Access Program to Address Justice System Gaps

7 Aug 2016

Today, the Department of Justice and the Pascua Yaqui Tribe announced the tribe has officially begun to access and exchange critical law enforcement data with national crime information databases, a step forward in joint federal-tribal efforts to strengthen community safety, solve crimes, protect law enforcement and provide efficient services to local governments, such as pre-employment background checks.

The Pascua Yaqui Tribe, located near Tucson, Arizona, is one of 9 tribes to participate in the initial User Feedback Phase of the Department of Justice's Tribal Access Program for National Crime Information (TAP), a program to provide federally recognized tribes the ability to access and exchange data with national crime information databases for both civil and criminal purposes.

"With this initiative, tribal law enforcement agencies within our District will have the same access to critical information as our metropolitan agencies,' said U.S. Attorney John S. Leonardo for the District of Arizona.

"The bottom line is that the TAP will close gaps and loopholes in our tribal criminal justice system and help us protect our community and we are thankful for the collaboration with our federal and state partners," said Pascua Yaqui Tribal Chairman Robert Valencia.

"It is our hope that TAP can minimize the national crime information gap and drive a deeper and more meaningful collaboration between the federal, state, local and tribal criminal justice communities," said Justice Department Chief Information Officer Joseph F. Klimavicz.

The Pascua Yaqui Tribe currently prosecutes crimes committed by non-Indians in domestic violence cases on the reservation through the exercise of Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction (SDVCJ), established most recently by the 2013 Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The exercise of SDVCJ authority has exposed many gaps in justice information access and sharing, for tribes and off-reservation state agencies. TAP will help remedy these gaps.

First, the TAP will allow the tribe to enter tribal orders of protection to the National Criminal Information Center (NCIC), a national electronic database, which will provide off-reservation law enforcement agencies electronic access to enforce these orders of protection if violated off-reservation. Currently, tribal orders of protection are only enforceable off-reservation if the victim has a copy of the order of protection.

The tribe will also be able to enter tribal domestic violence criminal convictions into NCIC. This will provide all law enforcement agencies and licensed firearms dealers, regardless of location, the ability to halt a transfer of a firearm to an individual prohibited from possessing firearms, including those prohibited from possessing firearms because of a tribal order of protection. The effect is that prohibited firearm possessors may face prosecution if found in possession of weapons. Ultimately, this could result in the prevention of escalating incidents of crime and violence.

Finally, cases prosecuted under special domestic violence criminal jurisdiction may result in a warrant issued for individuals who flee the reservation boundaries to avoid prosecution in tribal court. TAP will assist in the extradition of these individuals to tribal court to face justice for acts committed on the reservation.