Statement
of
James H. Burrus Jr.
Acting Assistant Director, Criminal Investigative
Division
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Before the
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
March 15, 2006
Good
morning Chairman McCain, ranking member Dorgan, and
members of the Committee on Indian Affairs. I appreciate
the opportunity to appear and provide testimony about
the FBI and its work in Indian Country, especially
as it relates to the protection of Indian children.
The
FBI has a long history of service to the Native American
people throughout the United States and dedicated
special agents of the FBI's Indian Country Program
work hard to deliver quality law enforcement service
to tribal communities of all sizes. We remain strongly
committed to our role in Indian Country and to our
partnerships with tribal, local, state, and federal
agencies in Indian Country.
There
are 561 federally recognized Indian tribes in the
United States and approximately 297 Indian reservations
with over one million Native American residents on
or near reservation lands. The FBI has federal law
enforcement responsibility on more than 200 of those
Indian reservations and federal criminal jurisdiction
over acts directly related to Indian gaming regardless
of jurisdiction status.
The
FBI currently has 114 special agents addressing 2,076
Indian Country matters in 22 field offices. Eight
FBI field offices account for nearly 90 percent of
all Indian Country casework in the FBI and the FBI's
Indian Country resources are focused on reservations
where the FBI has primary federal investigative authority.
The
FBI's priorities in Indian Country focus on the most
serious crimes of violence, including homicide, child
sexual and physical abuse, and violent assault. FBI
investigations in these priority categories comprise
over 70 percent of all FBI investigations in Indian
Country. The challenges do not end there, as crime
related to gangs and drugs are on the increase, Indian
gaming investigations remain important, and the FBI
always stands ready to protect tribal communities
from political corruption. The FBI in Indian Country
is simultaneously addressing many different aspects
of crime in Indian Country and remains fully engaged.
During
the period covering fiscal years 2003 through 2006,
the FBI initiated 1,658 investigations and made 537
arrests in matters involving Indian child sexual abuse.
During the same period, the FBI initiated 134 investigations
and made 39 arrests in matters involving Indian child
physical abuse. This represents approximately 30%
of all FBI investigations in Indian Country during
that period. Crimes against Indian children have been,
and will remain, a top priority for the FBI.
The
FBI routinely receives reports of Indian child abuse
from various local law enforcement agencies in Indian
Country, including the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office
of Law Enforcement Services (BIA-OLES). In cases of
Indian child abuse reports received by FBI field divisions,
investigations are conducted either by FBI special
agents or task force members working with the FBI
on Indian Country Safe Trails Task Forces (STTF).
In limited circumstances, the allegations may be referred
to tribal, BIA, or other law enforcement agencies
for investigation and presentation to tribal courts
as deemed necessary.
Additionally,
the FBI receives referrals of allegations of Indian
child abuse from other public service entities such
as schools, medical professionals, and child protective
service organizations. Some of these referrals are
the direct result of FBI participation on Multi-Disciplinary
Teams or Child Protection Teams in Indian communities.
There may be instances where child abuse complaints
are received and investigated by other law enforcement
agencies in Indian Country and the FBI is not made
immediately aware of those allegations. However, the
FBI and other law enforcement partners in Indian Country
strive to ensure all allegations of child abuse are
reported to us and immediately addressed.
Allegations
of child abuse are documented in FBI investigative
files if an investigation is initiated. In cases where
the FBI refers the allegations to either tribal law
enforcement or BIA-OLES, the allegation may be documented
in a complaint form or other communication. Child
abuse allegations received by the FBI and documented
in a format other than an investigative file represent
child abuse reports with various dispositions, including
unsubstantiated reports, referral to other investigative
agencies, or immediate declinations of prosecution.
The
Office for Victim Assistance (OVA) ensures that victims
of federal crimes investigated by the FBI are afforded
the opportunity to receive notification of investigation
status and receive victim services. OVA employs 31
victim specialists dedicated to Indian Country, serving
38 Indian nations. In addition to providing information
on victims' rights and the criminal justice process,
these victim specialists also provide on-scene crisis
intervention, accompany agents to interviews, arrange
forensic exams, and accompany victims to court proceedings.
Victim specialists establish working relationships
with tribal councils to coordinate services and assure
cultural understanding.
Our
partnerships with Indian Country law enforcement and
tribal communities are critical to successfully addressing
Indian child abuse. There are several successful programs
in Indian Country that I would like to highlight.
Since
FY 2004, the FBI has supported the Tribal Tele-Medicine
Initiative in South Dakota, a joint effort by the
FBI's Minneapolis Division, Midwest Children's Research
Center, Indian Health Service, Department of Justice,
Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Midwest Regional Children's Advocacy
Center, and the National Children's Alliance. The
goals of this initiative are to provide a means to
introduce forensic pediatric specialists early into
Indian Country child abuse investigations and to build
stronger multidisciplinary teams in Indian Country.
This
program utilizes video teleconferencing capability,
along with specialized audio and video equipment,
to connect the examining physician in Indian Country
with child abuse medical experts in an off-site location.
This process not only allows expert medical evaluation
of the child victim but also minimizes trauma to the
child that may result from multiple medical examinations
and interviews. Through this project, experienced
medical and treatment personnel are also accessible
to service areas and tribal facilities in rural or
isolated communities.
The
FBI also supports the Tohono O'Odham Reservation Children's
House (TORCH), a joint effort between the Tohono O'Odham
Nation Police Department (TOPD), FBI, and the Southern
Arizona Children's Advocacy Center, which serves to
exponentially enhance the overall investigative effectiveness
in addressing child sexual assaults. TORCH provides
the child victims of sexual/physical abuse and their
families with an immediate, safe, child-friendly and
culturally sensitive environment that is conducive
to effective forensic interviewing. These two efforts
are directly aimed at improving the quality of child
abuse investigations while minimizing additional trauma
to the child victim.
In
circumstances where the establishment of a permanent
forensic center is not an option, the FBI partners
with other organizations to seek creative solutions
to problems. One example is the FBI's use of the Childhelp
Children's Mobile Advocacy Center of Northern Arizona
during child abuse and sexual assault investigations.
This mobile unit in Arizona travels to or near the
victims' reservation to prevent the child and family
from having to travel long distances to an advocacy
and medical facility for interview and physical examination.
By delivering the forensic interview and sexual assault
examination capability to the child victim, the traumatic
effect on the child and family is vastly reduced.
The
FBI faces many unique obstacles in investigating crimes
against children in Indian Country. Included among
those are remote territories requiring substantial
travel for investigation, long travel distances for
access to technical expertise, reluctant witnesses
due to close family structures in most tribal communities,
and cultural sensitivities in tribal relations.
The
FBI is fully committed to preparing Indian Country
law enforcement, including FBI special agents, with
the knowledge and skills required to address such
important investigations. Pursuant to a mandate from
Congress to provide training to Indian Country law
enforcement officers, the FBI has trained nearly 5,500
Indian Country law enforcement officers and agents
since 1997. This training is closely coordinated with
the BIA's Indian Police Academy. Together the FBI
and BIA will offer 21 regional training conferences
during FY 2006, including specialized training in
child abuse, forensic interviewing of abused children,
crime scene investigation, child sexual assault and
abuse investigations.
The
FBI is committed to protecting Native American children
from abuse and what clearly constitutes a threat to
the future of Indian children and their communities.
We look forward to working with this committee to
accomplish this worthwhile goal.
I
would now be happy to answer any questions.
