Tribal Police Agencies

[BrickCop]

Are there any LEOs here who work for or adjacent to a tribal police agency? If I understood it correctly another thread mentioned that the Florida Highway Patrol and a Tribal Agency share or allow cross jurisdiction on certain roads(?)

How are the tribal police agencies trained since they are sovereign nations- do they undergo the same classes/training as the non tribal agencies? Who trains them? I'm assuming there is a close working relationship between these different agencies, correct?

I obviously know nothing about tribal police; I'd find any info/experiences very interesting.

[orlandofed5-0]

In Florida, tribal police agencies fall under the Florida Dept. Of LE for training standards. Most non BIA departments hire state certified officers since it is easier for them to attend a week or 2 of federal training.

[Delta_V]

A sheriff's office in Florida can give another agency (including a tribal agency) concurrent jurisdiction on an area of land outside of their jurisdiction. FHP cannot. We have a tribal agency in our county and its only jurisdiction is the reservation (a big casino/hotel). They have the same rights as other LEOs when it comes to fresh pursuit, however they cannot take any enforcement action on offenses that occur outside their jurisdiction.

On the employee side of things, tribal officers in Florida work for the tribe and are not considered civil service employees by the state. They have at-will jobs and are not entitled statutorily to any union protection. I'm not sure if any of the tribal agencies in the state have unions, but if so then that is because the tribe has allowed them to unionize. Additionally, tribal officers cannot participate in the state's pension plan. The tribal agencies I know of all have 401K plans like private sector employers.

[nonickname69]

In South Dakota there is no shared jurisdiction. Some states choose to have that option a number of years ago but SD did not (Under Public Law 280). So if you are in pursuit and they run onto the reservation they essentially get a get-out-of-free jail card. Unless the Tribal Police join in the fun. Even then they still have to be extradited which is fairly rare and more political than you can imagine. It's a lot of us vs them attitude with the tribal courts.

[BrickCop]

In South Dakota there is no shared jurisdiction. Some states choose to have that option a number of years ago but SD did not (Under Public Law 280). So if you are in pursuit and they run onto the reservation they essentially get a get-out-of-free jail card. Unless the Tribal Police join in the fun. Even then they still have to be extradited which is fairly rare and more political than you can imagine. It's a lot of us vs them attitude with the tribal courts.

If you radioed ahead they would pick up the pursuit, correct? I can't envision them being indifferent if a violent offender fled into their jurisdiction(?)

Intersting replies- thanks.

[nonickname69]

If you radioed ahead they would pick up the pursuit, correct? I can't envision them being indifferent if a violent offender fled into their jurisdiction(?)

Intersting replies- thanks.

Sometimes, usually they have less coverage than the surrounding counties. The cops themselves are usually pretty squared away guys it's the politics that make it a pain in the ***.

[statebear]

I worked at a PD that had tribal housing and lands within the city limits. The particular tribe entered into a mutual aid agreement with the Department and cross commissioned us as tribal officers. This was mostly due to their lack of manpower and large coverage areas. This tribe had tribal lands/property in at least 4 counties that I knew of. Basically if a call came out on tribal land and if they requested mutual aid, we would respond and take whatever emergency enforcement action was necessary, or secure the situation until they arrived to handle the reports or arrests.

Some of the smaller counties cross-deputize tribal officers, so that they can assist the county with calls and emergencies, via mutual aid agreements.

There are also BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) Police that are commissioned federal officers that patrol tribal lands, that do not have their own police forces. However, I am not familiar with their ops, due to never working with them.