[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 67 (Monday, April 10, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17295-17296]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-07077]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
[OMB Number 1121--NEW]
Bureau of Justice Statistics; Agency Information Collection
Activities; Proposed eCollection eComments Requested; New Collection:
Census of Tribal Law Enforcement Agencies (CTLEA)
AGENCY: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Department of Justice.
ACTION: 60-Day notice.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs,
Bureau of Justice Statistics, will be submitting the following
information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995.
DATES: Comments are encouraged and will be accepted for 60 days until
June 9, 2017.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have additional comments
especially on the estimated public burden or associated response time,
suggestions, or need a copy of the proposed information collection
instrument with instructions or additional information, please contact
Steven W. Perry, Statistician, Prosecution and Judicial Statistics,
Bureau of Justice Statistics, 810 Seventh Street NW., Washington, DC
20531 (email: [email protected]; telephone: 202-307-0777).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Written comments and suggestions from the
public and affected agencies concerning the proposed collection of
information are encouraged. Your comments should address one or more of
the following four points:
--Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary
for the proper performance of the functions of the Bureau of Justice
Statistics, including whether the information will have practical
utility;
--Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
--Evaluate whether and if so how the quality, utility, and clarity of
the information to be collected can be enhanced; and
--Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are
to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic
submission of responses.
Overview of This Information Collection
(1) Type of Information Collection: New collection.
(2) The Title of the Form/Collection: Census of Tribal Law
Enforcement Agencies (CTLEA).
(3) The agency form number, if any, and the applicable component of
the Department sponsoring the collection: The applicable form number(s)
for this collection is CTLEA-17 and CTLEA-17BIA. The applicable
component within the Department of Justice is the Bureau of Justice
Statistics, in the Office of Justice Programs.
(4) Affected public who will be asked or required to respond, as
well as a brief abstract: This information collection is a census of
approximately 300 tribal law enforcement agencies and Bureau of Indian
Affairs (BIA) police agencies operating in Indian country and serving
tribal lands. The Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010 (TLOA) directed BJS
to improve its Indian country statistical data collections at the
federal, state, local and tribal levels. This project helps fulfill
this mandate and meet the agencies mission.
Abstract: Tribal law enforcement agencies share concurrent
jurisdiction for all criminal matters among tribal members occurring on
tribal lands and, often, act as the first responders for serious felony
crimes committed in Indian country, until the appropriate federal and
state law enforcement official arrive upon the scene. Tribal law
enforcement agencies are authorized and operated by tribes to enforce
tribal laws, statutes and codes. BIA police agencies are operated by
the Department of Interior, serving on specified reservation or
enforcing laws for a group of smaller tribes in close proximity to one
another. Currently there about 30 BIA police departments. Similar to
many Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, tribal and BIA
officers have to meet certain qualifications or complete required
certification or training to be police officers. They are responsible
for ensuring the public safety on reservations, trust land and tribal
communities. They face the threats of danger responding to the public's
call for help, often covering vast geographic regions with limited
resources. However, although the combined number tribal and BIA law
enforcement agencies has increased to about 300 in recent decades,
unlike their Federal, State and local counterparts, there has been only
limited studies on law enforcement in Indian country and no
comprehensive regularly recurring statistical collection that focuses
on all tribal and BIA law enforcement agencies operating in the U.S.
The CTLEA will capture the administrative and operational
characteristics of the law enforcement agencies. A goal of the CTLEA is
to obtain national statistics on tribal and BIA law enforcement agency
staffing and services; operating budgets and sources of funding; work
activities including calls for service, arrests and citations issued;
training, equipment and types of transportation; coordination and
collaboration with Federal, State and local agencies; and technology
use and access to regional and national criminal justice databases. In
addition, this survey will collect data on matters related to human
trafficking, domestic violence, and juvenile offending. These data will
allow BJS to establish baselines for possible trend analyses and
comparisons with future iteration of the CTLEA. The information
gathered in the CTLEA-17 and CTLEA-17BIA will ask questions about 2017
agency characteristics and 2016 crime statistics.
(5) An estimate of the total number of respondents and the amount
of time estimated for an average respondent to respond: An estimated
300 tribal law enforcement agencies--including tribal operated police
departments (224), conservation/wildlife enforcement agencies (43),
tribal university or college police (6) and BIA agencies (27)--that
serve or work on tribal lands will take part in the CTLEA. Based on the
pilot testing, an average of 45 minutes per respondent is needed to
complete the CTLEA-17 form and 30 minutes per respondent is needed to
complete the CTLEA-17BIA form. The following factors were considered
when determining the final questionnaire content and the reasonably
acceptable burden estimate for the first CTLEA: The total number of
eligible tribal law enforcement agencies, the ability of offices to
access or gather the requested data, and the capacity for their case
management systems to generate the
[[Page 17296]]
required information balanced against the current paucity of accurate
and regularly available data about tribal law enforcement agencies
operated by tribes or the BIA. BJS anticipates that nearly all of the
approximately 300 respondents will fully complete the questionnaire.
(6) An estimate of the total public burden (in hours) associated
with the collection: The total estimated public burden associated with
this collection is 230 hours. It is estimated that respondents will
take 30 to 45 minutes to complete a questionnaire depending on the
version and an additional 15 minutes is needed for potential post data
collection verification or validation of responses for about 15% of the
respondents. The burden hours for CTLEA respondent data collection sum
to 229 hours ((273 TLEA respondents x 45 min.) + (27 BIA respondents x
30 min.) + (45 verification respondents x 15 min.))/60 min. = 230
hours.
If additional information is required contact: Melody Braswell,
Department Clearance Officer, United States Department of Justice,
Justice Management Division, Policy and Planning Staff, Two
Constitution Square, 145 N Street NE., 3E.405A, Washington, DC 20530.
Dated: April 5, 2017.
Melody Braswell,
Department Clearance Officer for PRA, U.S. Department of Justice.
[FR Doc. 2017-07077 Filed 4-7-17; 8:45 am]
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