Public Law 280 Training Program for Enhanced Collaborative Law Enforcement

NOTE: This is a free resource, NOT an eLearning course. There is no pretest or posttest, and you will not receive a certificate of completion for reviewing this resource.

Resource Overview: Public Law 280 Training Program for Enhanced Collaborative Law Enforcement, a module-based curriculum, provides participants with background information and tangible strategies necessary for effectively policing PL280 reservations.  The nuances of PL280 can have varying applications in different states, resulting in confusion regarding jurisdiction in Indian Country. Through cooperation and collaborative resource sharing, tribal and non-tribal law enforcement can work within PL280 to benefit their jurisdictions.

The introductory module explores the history of PL280 while identifying when tribal, state, and federal governments have jurisdiction.  Learners then examine the practical applications of PL280 in their state and recognize benefits and challenges to community policing and how to implement key community policing strategies to enhance responsiveness to the most challenging and frequently occurring crimes in PL280 jurisdictions. The curriculum demonstrates how to establish a task force, garner support for task force development, gather resources, and adapt the task force to overcome environmental and political barriers. Insight into the historical background of tribal governments leads to understanding how sovereignty can be used to foster effective law enforcement by building capacity through regulation and tribal law.

Target Audience: Law enforcement and tribal and non-tribal state/government leadership.

Additional Resources

• Public Law 280 Homepage
• Strategic Applications International Homepage
• Cross-Deputization in Indian Country (pdf)
• Promising Practices in Tribal Community Policing (pdf)
• Public Safety Partnerships in Indian Country (pdf)
• Successful Tribal Community Policing Initiatives: A Resource for Communities Developing Public Safety Programs and Strategies (pdf)
• Department of Justice - American Indians and Crime (pdf)
• Department of Justice - Public Law 280 FAQ
• Department of Justice - Policing on American Indian Reservations (pdf)
• National Institute of Justice - Violence Against American Indian and Alaska Native Women and Men (pdf)
• What is Public Law 280? Learning Graphic (pdf)
• Tribal Community Policing Learning Graphic (pdf)
• Taskforce Development Learning Graphic (pdf)
• Sovereignty Learning Graphic (pdf)