Juvenile delinquency is an enormous problem faced by both State and tribal governments.
This accounted for 18 percent of all arrests made during that year. Unfortunately, there are no complete and accurate sets of statistics available on the rate of juvenile delinquency among the American Indian and Alaskan Native population as a whole. In spite of this, I think it is fair and accurate to say that the threat of an increased rate of juvenile delinquency is great in Indian country due to the large and growing population of Indian youth under the age of 18. Despite this, there are still about half as many police officers in Indian country on a per capita basis. Currently, tribal governments which perform law enforcement functions are eligible to receive grants through the Native American Pass-Through Program, established through the 1988 amendments to the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974.