Impacts of disparate policing in Indian Country

Abstract

Like most racialised minority groups, Native Americans have long experienced disparate policing, both in the form of over-and under-policing their communities. Inevitably, the interactions between police and Native Americans shape the latter's perceptions of the brand of justice they can expect. Cumulatively, overand under-policing reinforce the antipathy if not outright hostility towards police. They compound the historically strained relationship between Native Americans and the western criminal justice system. Yet the impacts of disparate policing also have broader community and political effects, including over-representation in the justice system, disempowerment, segregation and enhanced risk of victimisation.

Discrimination in the United States: Experiences of Native Americans

“…[16][17][18][19]33 Regardless of geographic or neighborhood living situation, Native American adults reported experiencing high levels of discrimination in many areas of life, and our estimates are consistent with nonrepresentative samples that also find discrimination and bias against Native American people in their interactions with the police and the courts. 39,40 This may be due in part to the complex criminal jurisdiction in Indian Country and also racial tension between Native and non-Native communities, including suspicion of law enforcement, perceived prejudice, and cultural conflicts between Native American and Western values. [39][40][41] This study found that more than one in five Native Americans reported avoiding interactions with the legal system because they fear unfair treatment, further perpetuating distrust and increasing racial disparities in interactions with law enforcement.…”

“…39,40 This may be due in part to the complex criminal jurisdiction in Indian Country and also racial tension between Native and non-Native communities, including suspicion of law enforcement, perceived prejudice, and cultural conflicts between Native American and Western values. [39][40][41] This study found that more than one in five Native Americans reported avoiding interactions with the legal system because they fear unfair treatment, further perpetuating distrust and increasing racial disparities in interactions with law enforcement.…”

Attitudes and Marginalization: Examining American Indian Perceptions of Law Enforcement Among Adolescents

“…Issues of race, social class, and the disparities that result are inherent in the American criminal justice system; however, they may be more pronounced for American Indians. Like other marginalized groups, American Indians are grossly overrepresented at all stages of the criminal justice system (Skoog, 1996), including victimization, arrest, and incarceration (Perry, 2009a). The role of the police in perpetuating these disparities is well documented for other minority groups, namely, African Americans, though less documented for American Indians.…”

“…In the research that has been conducted, issues of over-and under-policing are evident across American Indian communities (Perry, 2009a(Perry, , 2009b. For example, Perry (2009a) highlighted the negative perceptions most American Indians have of the police regardless of jurisdiction, including interactions with "tribal and non-tribal, on-and off-reservation, Native and non-Native police officers and agencies" (Perry, 2009a, p. 266). Furthermore, myths about representative police departments-those having comparable racial characteristics to the communities they serve-are also debunked, as previous efforts argued this would deflate tension within racialized communities.…”

“…Scholars suggest that American Indian communities in particular are still reeling from the effects of colonization and therefore are more likely to be distrustful of Westernized institutions altogether (Mander & Tauli-Corpuz, 2006). Acting as agents of social control, the police may be viewed as an extension of governmental practices that further monopolize Indigenous life (Perry, 2009a(Perry, , 2009bWaziyatawin, 2008;Wells & Falcone, 2008). Federal policies such as the Indian Relocation Program during the 1960s forcibly removed Indians from the reservation and into urban areas across the United States (Bell & Lim, 2005;Fixico, 1986Fixico, , 2000.…”