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**CTAS in Action: Nebraska and Kansas-basedNative American Police Use DOJ Grant toUpgrade Technology, Improve Public Safety**
May 2019 | Volume 12 | Issue 4
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 Police Department to purchase new equipment and receive critical training to remain certified in two states to provide public safety services. (Photo courtesy Iowa Tribe Police Department)
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 part-time 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 police force. A grant award of more than $1.3 million from the  Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office)  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  (CTAS), the police department now has 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 the COPS Office 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, the COPS Office  provides funding to enable tribal law enforcement agencies to make communities  safer through procurement of equipment, training, hiring or rehiring of career  law enforcement officers, and 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 of Justice 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 abuse victims. 

 To  learn more about CTAS, visit the DOJ's Tribal Justice and  Safety website. 

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