CTAS in Action: Nebraska and Kansas-based Native American 

police use DOJ grant to upgrade technology, improve public safety 

Providing public safety services 

on a reservation of more than 

12,000 acres across two states is a 

daunting but necessary task for 

the six full-time and two parttime law enforcement officers of 

the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and 

Nebraska. 

The eight-person department is 

responsible for providing all 

public safety services for the tribe

of 700 members. 

Before the department became 

operational 24/7 in 1996, basic 

tools crucial to successful law 

enforcement, such as reliable 

communications equipment, were 

unavailable to the rural area 

police force. A grant award of 

more than $1.3 million from the 

Department of Justice’s Office of 

Community Oriented Policing 

Services (COPS) helped change 

that for the fledgling police force.

“Radios were limited to just the vehicles, officers had to share radios to complete shifts and 

answer calls,” said N. Allen Phroper, the tribe’s chief of police. “Reports were handwritten.” 

Thanks to additional grant funds awarded in 2017 via the Justice Department’s Coordinated 

Tribal Assistance Solicitation, the PD now had upgraded gear, including fingerprinting 

machines, laptops and even automated external defibrillators in every patrol car. 

“Having updated equipment and technology allows officers to be efficient with their daily duties, 

advocate community policing and protect tribal residents,” said Phroper.

The grant was provided by COPS under CTAS Purpose Area 1: Public Safety and Community 

Policing – one of 10 “purpose areas” (grant programs) – available to federally-recognized 

American Indian Tribes and Alaska Native Villages. Under this grant program, COPS provides 

funding to enable tribal law enforcement agencies to make communities safer through 

A police officer from the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska uses his laptop 

during a routine patrol on the tribe's reservation. The tribe received a 2017 

Department of Justice grant under the Coordinated Tribal Assistance 

Solicitation, enabling the Iowa Tribe PD to purchase new equipment and receive 

critical training to remain certified in two states to provide public safety 

services. (Courtesy photo Iowa Tribe Police Department)
procurement of equipment, training, hiring or re-hiring career law enforcement officers, and 

through implementation of effective, data-driven policing strategies. 

The Iowa Tribe received nearly $179,000 in CTAS grant funds under Purpose Area 1.

Since 2010, the Department has awarded over 2,000 grants totaling more than $943 million in 

CTAS grant funds to hundreds of American Indian and Alaska Native communities. The tribes 

are using these funds to enhance law enforcement; combat domestic violence, dating violence, 

stalking and sex trafficking; bolster justice systems; prevent and control juvenile delinquency;

strengthen the juvenile justice system; and serve sexual assault and elder.

The deadline to apply for Fiscal Year 2019 CTAS funds is March 12. To learn how to apply, 

visit the Department of Justice’s Tribal Justice and Safety website at: 

https://www.justice.gov/tribal/open-solicitations. 

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