There may be conflicts based on tribal affiliation even among the members of confederated tribes. Finally, many urban Indians retain ties to their reservation and visit periodically. They may bring with them ideas, attitudes, and values that conflict with traditional ways and cause disorder and crime. Perpetrators and victims frequently know one another and family loyalty may lead witnesses to fail to come forward and victims to fail to prosecute. The new domestic violence laws across the country that require the arrest of at least one party are helpful in bringing domestic violence perpetrators to judgment.
Child abuse is another crime that concerns many reservation police departments.
It often occurs in a context of poverty, unemployment, alcoholism and drug use. The scourge of juvenile gangs has also reached the nation's Indian reservations. Most reservation police departments want to establish and maintain mutually supportive relationships with their communities. They recognize the importance of community support, noting that the police cannot enforce laws that the community does not endorse. They call for community leaders and those with vested interests in the community to demonstrate their commitment to lawful behavior.