The 2007 Tribal Crime Data and Information Sharing Conference: Strengthening Sovereignty Through Justice Data and Information Sharing was held on August 2-3, 2007, in Phoenix, AZ.
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, the Conference goal was to increase the knowledge, skills and abilities of tribal practitioners, administrators, and policymakers to collect and use tribal crime data to promote public safety and to enable accurate analysis, information sharing and data exchange, internally and with other groups.
Who Attended:
Crime Data & Information Sharing Issues
Throughout Indian country, tribal governments are faced with rising crime, violence and victimization issues. Tribes need accurate and timely data to understand the scope and prevalence of these problems and to make informed decisions about what to do about public safety in their communities. The collection and analysis of crime and victimization data are critical elements in the satisfactory completion of the grant process to demonstrate tribal needs to private, local, federal and state funding agencies.
Tribes often encounter problems associated with collection, management, and analysis of local crime, violence, and victimization data. While most tribes collect information manually, it is not known to what extent tribes are able to use this data for their own purposes, report or share it with other tribal, local, state or federal law enforcement agencies.
The Conference addressed the above issues in plenary and workshop presentations through the following Conference categories.
Topic Areas included:
- Information Sharing & Data Exchange
- Information Technology
- Research and Evaluation
- Statistics and Data Collection
Attention was given to the recent
Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (PL 109-248). For example, sessions included discussions on technical assistance available for tribes that elect to develop their own sex offender registries and technologies associated with these databases. (For more detailed information visit the
US DOJ SMART Office web site and the recent press release:
http://www.ojp.gov/newsroom/2007/DOJ_07-366.htm.)
The Conference provided participants with informative panel presentations, keynote presentations, breakout sessions, luncheons, and an exhibitor gallery, showcasing the latest information technology used to collect and share data.
