Jurisdiction, Crime, and Development: The Impact of Public Law 280 in Indian Country

Abstract

Public Law 280 transferred jurisdiction over criminal and civil matters from the federal to state governments and increased the extent of nontribal law enforcement in selected parts of Indian country. Where enacted, the law fundamentally altered the preexisting legal order. Public Law 280 thus provides a unique opportunity to study the impact of legal institutions and their change on socioeconomic outcomes. The law's controversial content has attracted interest from legal scholars. However, empirical studies of its impact are scarce and do not address the law's endogenous nature. We examine the law's impact on crime and on economic development in U.S. counties with significant American‐Indian reservation population. To address the issue of selection of areas subject to Public Law 280, our empirical strategy draws on the law's politico‐historical context. We find that the application of Public Law 280 increased crime and lowered incomes. The law's adverse impact is robust and noteworthy in magnitude.

Judiciary institutions and violent crime in American Indian nations

“…As Reid and Curry (2021) and Dimitrova‐Grajzl et al. (2014) describe, crime rates have increased in communities where PL‐280 was enforced. Therefore, we might expect violent crime rates to be higher when the state has authority over criminal matters on American Indian reservations because of decreased institutional capacity and perceptions of illegitimacy among American Indian constituents.…”

“…Recent studies on indigenous authorities outside of the US mirror these observations, showing that indigenous leaders can be effective in providing public services (Baldwin, 2015;Díaz-Cayeros et al, 2014). Dimitrova-Grajzl et al (2014) examine how changes after Public Law 280-transferring jurisdiction from the federal government to states-are associated with increasing crime in communities subject to PL-280. However, they focus on counties with significant AIAN populations rather than tribal areas.…”

“…Dimitrova‐Grajzl et al. (2014) examine how changes after Public Law 280—transferring jurisdiction from the federal government to states—are associated with increasing crime in communities subject to PL‐280. However, they focus on counties with significant AIAN populations rather than tribal areas.…”

Growing up without finance

“…50)." Despite the intention to affect criminal enforcement, PL280 and non-PL280 areas had similar incarceration rates prior to the law's passage (Brown, Cookson, and Heimer, 2017), and after the law, legal scholarship suggests the criminal provisions of PL280 were largely ineffective at reducing crime (Dimitrova-Grajzl, Grajzl, and Guse, 2014). Thus, using PL280 assignment to evaluate the effects of financial development is not confounded by either pre-existing or subsequent differences in law and order across reservations.…”

Sociology of Law Perspectives on Security, Population, and Local Wisdom Issues

“…According to the concept of legal sociology, that change can occur because the rate of population growth and development is very fast and uncontrolled. (Halim, 2015) (Hidayat, 2013) ( Dimitrova-Grajzl et al, 2014) (Akerboom & Craig, 2022) Fort United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders that the impact of such changes is considered a potential criminogenic, meaning that crime can occur anywhere. Therefore, any changes due to the population explosion must be accompanied by the provision of sufficient land and employment so as not to cause social problems and, in the end, can become one of the causes of imbalances in society.…”