Indian reservations across the United States have grappled for years with chronic rates of crime higher than all but a handful of the nations most violent cities. But the Justice Department, which is responsible for prosecuting the most serious crimes on reservations, files charges in only about half of Indian Country murder investigations and turns down nearly two-thirds of sexual assault cases, according to new federal data.
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But tribes say they are rarely told why reservation cases are not pursued by the government.
One of the basic problems is that not only are they declining to prosecute cases, but we are not getting the reason or notification for the declination, said Jerry Gardner of the Tribal Law and Policy Institute in West Hollywood, Calif., which works with tribes to develop justice programs. The federal system takes a long time to make a decision, and when it comes to something like a child sexual assault, the community gets the message that nothing is being done.