SSLLEASTL Attachments with Table of Contents

Survey of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies Serving Tribal
Lands
Table of Contents
Attachment #
Part A 01
Part A 02
Part A 03
Part A 04
Part B 01
Part B 02
Part B 03
Part B 04
Part B 05
Part B 06
Part B 07
Part B 08
Part B 09
Part B 10
Part B 11
Part B 12
Part B 13
Part B 14
Part B 15
Part B 16
Part B 17
Part B 18

1

Document Name
Title 42 Authorization
SSLLEASTL Pilot Report (with pilot questionnaire at end)
SSLLEASTL Questionnaire for Alaska
SSLEASTL Questionnaire Remaining States
Law Enforcement Pre-notification Letter
Law Enforcement IACP Letter of Support
Law Enforcement NSA Letter of Support
Law Enforcement Initial Questionnaire Cover Letter
Law Enforcement Questionnaire for Alaska
Law Enforcement Questionnaire Remaining PL-280 States
Law Enforcement Reminder Postcard Text
Law Enforcement Telephone Contacting Script
Law Enforcement Telephone Voicemail Script
Law Enforcement Replacement Questionnaire Cover Letter
Law Enforcement Reminder Letter
Law Enforcement Second Replacement Questionnaire Cover Letter
Law Enforcement Last Chance Postcard/E-mail
Law Enforcement Telephone Retrieval Script
Law Enforcement Thank You E-mail/Letter
Law Enforcement Pilot Cover Letter
Law Enforcement Pilot Debriefing Script
Law Enforcement Pilot Survey Report

Page #
1
6
39
47
55
56
57
58
39
47
59
60
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
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DERIVATION
Title I
THE OMNIBUS CRIME CONTROL AND SAFE STREETS ACT OF 1968
(Public Law 90-351)
42 U.S.C. § 3711, et seq.
AN ACT to assist State and local governments in reducing the incidence of crime, to increase the effectiveness,
fairness, and coordination of law enforcement and criminal justice systems at all levels of government, and for other
purposes.
As Amended By
THE OMNIBUS CRIME CONTROL ACT OF 1970
(Public Law 91-644)
THE CRIME CONTROL ACT OF 1973
(Public Law 93-83)
THE JUVENILE JUSTICE AND DELINQUENCY PREVENTION ACT OF 1974
(Public Law 93-415)
THE PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS’ BENEFITS ACT OF 1976
(Public Law 94-430)
THE CRIME CONTROL ACT OF 1976
(Public Law 94-503)
THE JUSTICE SYSTEM IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 1979
(Public Law 96-157)
THE JUSTICE ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1984
(Public Law 98-473)
STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1986
(Public Law 99-570-Subtitle K)
THE ANTI-DRUG ABUSE ACT OF 1988
TITLE VI, SUBTITLE C - STATE AND LOCAL NARCOTICS CONTROL
AND JUSTICE ASSISTANCE IMPROVEMENTS
(Public Law 100-690)
THE CRIME CONTROL ACT OF 1990
(Public Law 101-647)
BRADY HANDGUN VIOLENCE PROTECTION ACT
(Public Law 103-159)
VIOLENT CRIME CONTROL AND LAW ENFORCEMENT ACT OF 1994
(Public Law 103-322)
NATIONAL CHILD PROTECTION ACT OF 1993, AS AMENDED
(Public Law 103-209)
and
CRIME IDENTIFICATION TECHNOLOGY ACT OF 1998
(Public Law 105-251)

1

BUREAU OF JUSTICE
STATISTICS CHAPTER 46 SUBCHAPTER III [TITLE I - PART
C]
42 USC § 3731

[Sec. 301.] Statement of purpose

It is the purpose of this subchapter [part] to provide for and encourage the collection and
analysis of statistical information concerning crime, juvenile delinquency, and the
operation of the criminal justice system and related aspects of the civil justice system
and to support the development of information and statistical systems at the Federal,
State, and local levels to improve the efforts of these levels of government to measure
and understand the levels of crime, juvenile delinquency, and the operation of the
criminal justice system and related aspects of the civil justice system. The Bureau shall
utilize to the maximum extent feasible State governmental organizations and facilities
responsible for the collection and analysis of criminal justice data and statistics. In
carrying out the provisions of this subchapter [part], the Bureau shall give primary
emphasis to the problems of State and local justice systems.
42 USC § 3732

[Sec. 302.] Bureau of Justice Statistics

(a) Establishment. There is established within the Department of Justice, under the
general authority of the Attorney General, a Bureau of Justice Statistics
(hereinafter referred to in this subchapter [part] as “Bureau”).
(b) Appointment of Director; experience; authority; restrictions. The Bureau shall be
headed by a Director appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of
the Senate. The Director shall have had experience in statistical programs. The Director
shall have final authority for all grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts awarded
by the Bureau. The Director shall report to the Attorney General through the Assistant
Attorney General. The Director shall not engage in any other employment than that of
serving as Director; nor shall the Director hold any office in, or act in any capacity for,
any organization, agency, or institution with which the Bureau makes any contract or
other arrangement under this Act.
(c) Duties and functions of Bureau. The Bureau is authorized to–
(1) make grants to, or enter into cooperative agreements or contracts with public
agencies, institutions of higher education, private organizations, or private
individuals for purposes related to this subchapter [part]; grants shall be made
subject to continuing compliance with standards for gathering justice statistics set
forth in rules and regulations promulgated by the Director;
(2) collect and analyze information concerning criminal victimization, including
crimes against the elderly, and civil disputes;
(3) collect and analyze data that will serve as a continuous and comparable national
social indication of the prevalence, incidence, rates, extent, distribution, and
attributes of crime, juvenile delinquency, civil disputes, and other statistical factors
related to crime, civil disputes, and juvenile delinquency, in support of national,
State, and local justice policy and decisionmaking;
2

(4) collect and analyze statistical information, concerning the operations of the
criminal justice system at the Federal, State, and local levels;
(5) collect and analyze statistical information concerning the prevalence, incidence,
rates, extent, distribution, and attributes of crime, and juvenile delinquency, at the
Federal, State, and local levels;
(6) analyze the correlates of crime, civil disputes and juvenile delinquency, by the use
of statistical information, about criminal and civil justice systems at the Federal,
State, and local levels, and about the extent, distribution and attributes of crime, and
juvenile delinquency, in the Nation and at the Federal, State, and local levels;
(7) compile, collate, analyze, publish, and disseminate uniform national statistics
concerning all aspects of criminal justice and related aspects of civil justice, crime,
including crimes against the elderly, juvenile delinquency, criminal offenders,
juvenile delinquents, and civil disputes in the various States;
(8) recommend national standards for justice statistics and for insuring the reliability
and validity of justice statistics supplied pursuant to this chapter [title];
(9) maintain liaison with the judicial branches of the Federal and State Governments
in matters relating to justice statistics, and cooperate with the judicial branch in
assuring as much uniformity as feasible in statistical systems of the executive and
judicial branches;
(10) provide information to the President, the Congress, the judiciary, State and
local governments, and the general public on justice statistics;
(11) establish or assist in the establishment of a system to provide State and local
governments with access to Federal informational resources useful in the planning,
implementation, and evaluation of programs under this Act;
(12) conduct or support research relating to methods of gathering or analyzing
justice statistics;
(13) provide for the development of justice information systems programs and
assistance to the States and units of local government relating to collection,
analysis, or dissemination of justice statistics;
(14) develop and maintain a data processing capability to support the collection,
aggregation, analysis and dissemination of information on the incidence of crime
and the operation of the criminal justice system;
(15) collect, analyze and disseminate comprehensive Federal justice transaction
statistics (including statistics on issues of Federal justice interest such as public fraud
and high technology crime) and to provide technical assistance to and work jointly
with other Federal agencies to improve the availability and quality of Federal justice
data;
(16) provide for the collection, compilation, analysis, publication and dissemination
3

of information and statistics about the prevalence, incidence, rates, extent,
distribution and attributes of drug offenses, drug related offenses and drug dependent
offenders and further provide for the establishment of a national
clearinghouse to maintain and update a comprehensive and timely data base on all
criminal justice aspects of the drug crisis and to disseminate such information;
(17) provide for the collection, analysis, dissemination and publication of statistics
on the condition and progress of drug control activities at the Federal, State and
local levels with particular attention to programs and intervention efforts
demonstrated to be of value in the overall national anti- drug strategy and to provide
for the establishment of a national clearinghouse for the gathering of data generated
by Federal, State, and local criminal justice agencies on their drug enforcement
activities;
(18) provide for the development and enhancement of State and local criminal justice
information systems, and the standardization of data reporting relating to the
collection, analysis or dissemination of data and statistics about drug offenses, drug
related offenses, or drug dependent offenders;
(19) provide for research and improvements in the accuracy, completeness, and
inclusiveness of criminal history record information, information systems, arrest
warrant, and stolen vehicle record information and information systems and support
research concerning the accuracy, completeness, and inclusiveness of other
criminal justice record information;
(20) maintain liaison with State and local governments and governments of other
nations concerning justice statistics;
(21) cooperate in and participate with national and international organizations in
the development of uniform justice statistics;
(22) ensure conformance with security and privacy requirement of section 3789g of
this title and identify, analyze, and participate in the development and
implementation of privacy, security and information policies which impact on
Federal and State criminal justice operations and related statistical activities; and
(23) exercise the powers and functions set out in subchapter VIII [part H] of this
chapter [title].
(d) Justice statistical collection, analysis, and dissemination. To insure that all justice
statistical collection, analysis, and dissemination is carried out in a coordinated manner, the
Director is authorized to–
(1) utilize, with their consent, the services, equipment, records, personnel,
information, and facilities of other Federal, State, local, and private agencies and
instrumentalities with or without reimbursement therefor, and to enter into
agreements with such agencies and instrumentalities for purposes of data collection
and analysis;
(2) confer and cooperate with State, municipal, and other local agencies;
4

(3) request such information, data, and reports from any Federal agency as may be
required to carry out the purposes of this chapter [title];
(4) seek the cooperation of the judicial branch of the Federal Government in gathering
data from criminal justice records; and
(5) encourage replication, coordination and sharing among justice agencies
regarding information systems, information policy, and data.
(e) Furnishing of information, data, or reports by Federal agencies. Federal agencies
requested to furnish information, data, or reports pursuant to subsection (d)(3) of this
section shall provide such information to the Bureau as is required to carry out the
purposes of this section.
(f) Consultation with representatives of State and local government and judiciary. In
recommending standards for gathering justice statistics under this section, the Director
shall consult with representatives of State and local government, including, where
appropriate, representatives of the judiciary.
42 USC § 3733

[Sec. 303.] Authority for 100 per centum grants

A grant authorized under this subchapter [part] may be up to 100 per centum of the total
cost of each project for which such grant is made. The Bureau shall require, whenever
feasible as a condition of approval of a grant under this subchapter [part] , that the
recipient contribute money, facilities, or services to carry out the purposes for which the
grant is sought.
42 USC § 3735

[Sec. 304.] Use of data

Data collected by the Bureau shall be used only for statistical or research purposes, and
shall be gathered in a manner that precludes their use for law enforcement or any purpose
relating to a particular individual other than statistical or research purposes.

5

Pilot Test Report

Census of State and Local Law
Enforcement Agencies Serving
Tribal Lands (CSLLEASTL)

PRESENTED TO:
U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)
October 16, 2015

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PRESENTED BY:
NORC at the University of Chicago
55 E. Monroe
Chicago, IL 60603

NORC

CENSUS OF STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES SERVING TRIBAL LANDS (CSLLEASTL)

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................... 1
RESPONDENT SELECTION AND RECRUITMENT ..................................................................................... 1
QUESTIONNAIRE DEVELOPMENT............................................................................................................. 2
DATA COLLECTION .................................................................................................................................... 2
DATA REVIEW ............................................................................................................................................. 3
RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................................................................. 4
APPENDIX A: CSLLEASTL PILOT TEST DEBRIEFING RESPONSES ...................................................... 7
APPENDIX B: CSLLEASTL CONTACTING MATERIALS ......................................................................... 21

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CENSUS OF STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES SERVING TRIBAL LANDS (CSLLEASTL)

INTRODUCTION
The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) funded a new program to collect information about the
services provided by state and local justice agencies on tribal lands. The program, called the State
and Local Justice Agencies Serving Tribal Lands (SLJASTL), will collect information from both state
and local law enforcement agencies and prosecutor offices. As part of the SLJASTL program, two
separate surveys were developed and will be fielded to collect this information, the Census of State
and Local Law Enforcement Agencies Serving Tribal Lands (CSLLEASTL) and the Census of State
and Local Prosecutor Offices Serving Tribal Lands (CSLPOSTL). The pilot data collection for each
survey provided an opportunity to obtain feedback from respondents on the survey content, burden
and data collection procedures. NORC conducted two separate pilot efforts, one with law
enforcement agencies and one with prosecutor offices. This report will describe the development
and piloting of the CSLLEASTL survey. Recommendations for survey and data collection revisions
will also be discussed. The CSLLEASTL pilot was conducted from May 2015 to September 2015.
Data were collected from 8 law enforcement agencies.
RESPONDENT SELECTION AND RECRUITMENT
For the main CSLLEASTL data collection effort, it is anticipated that law enforcement agencies will
be screened as part of Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies data collection.
Agencies stating that they provided services on tribal lands in 2014 will be included in the
CSLLEASTL fielding. For the CSLLEASTL pilot, the International Association of Chief of Police
(IACP) and the National Sheriff’s Association (NSA) identified state and local law enforcement
agencies that were believed to provide services on tribal lands. When identifying agencies,
consideration was given to the state they were located in, if they had jurisdiction over tribal lands,
any federal mandates that impacted jurisdiction over tribal lands (i.e. Public Law 280), and the
agency’s availability and willingness to participate. Once identified, these agencies were contacted to
establish that they met these criteria. If they met these criteria and were still willing to participate,
they were then included in the pilot study sample. If agencies were later found to be ineligible based
on study criteria (i.e. they did not provide law enforcement services or have jurisdiction over tribal
lands), the agency was removed from the pilot respondent list and was replaced by a new agency
identified by NSA or IACP. When replacing agencies, emphasis was placed on the selecting law
enforcement agencies in states that were not already represented in the pilot.
Identifying eligible law enforcement agencies in the state of Alaska was challenging when using the
existing definition of tribal lands to determine eligibility. The eligibility question (S1.) asked if law
enforcement services were provided on tribal lands and provided ‘Alaska Native villages’ as an
example. Within the state of Alaska, land is not owned by a tribe but is rather managed by a
designated group or corporation, referred to as an Alaskan Native Corporation or Alaskan Native
Village Corporation. Unlike reservations in the continental United States, Alaskan Villages are not
granted rights to the soil or natural resources found under the village. This distinction results in
different terminology used to describe villages in Alaska as compared to tribal lands in other states,
which resulted in Alaskan law enforcement agencies being initially categorized as eligible for the
CSLLEASTL pilot survey when they were not.
The law enforcement agencies responding to the pilot survey were located in:

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CENSUS OF STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES SERVING TRIBAL LANDS (CSLLEASTL)

ID Number
100100
100200
100300
100400
100500
100600
100700
100800
100900

State
Washington
California
Arizona
California
Idaho
Oregon
Alaska
Montana
Oklahoma

Notable Attributes
Optional PL-280
PL-280
Southwest
PL-280
Non-PL-280
PL-280
Alaska/PL-280
Non-PL-280
Oklahoma

Status
Survey and Debriefing Completed
Survey and Debriefing Completed
Survey and Debriefing Completed
Survey and Debriefing Completed
Survey and Debriefing Completed
Survey and Debriefing Completed
Survey and Debriefing Completed
Survey Completed
Non-Response

QUESTIONNAIRE DEVELOPMENT
Core questions and survey topics were provided by BJS and the CSLLEASTL questionnaire was
developed as a collaborative effort between BJS and NORC, with feedback provided by IACP and
NSA. In December 2014, an Expert Panel met over two days to review the contents of the
questionnaire and provide feedback, including changes to response options, question wording, and
substantive content. The wording of the eligibility screening questions was discussed. Members of
the panel included individuals from BJS, IACP, NSA, and NORC, as well as police chiefs and
sheriffs from across the country to serve as subject matter experts. During the meeting, the draft
pilot questionnaire was reviewed in detail, pausing at each question to reflect and obtain feedback.
After feedback from the Expert Panel meeting was incorporated, the updated draft questionnaire
was circulated and additional input solicited by email from the Expert Panel members.
The draft questionnaire was then formatted for printing to align with other similar self-administered
surveys conducted by NORC on behalf of BJS and with input from NORC’s Desktop Publishing
staff. The formatted questionnaire was reviewed by staff from BJS, with suggested formatting
changes implemented over a period of four weeks. Review of the final draft of the questionnaire was
an iterative process, with a full review of the questionnaire made by BJS each time changes were
implemented to either the content or formatting.
DATA COLLECTION
As agencies were identified and agreed to participate, each agency was sent a hardcopy version of
the questionnaire with an introductory letter describing the purpose of the pilot survey. The letter
was sent on BJS letterhead and was signed by the BJS Director. A postage paid FedEx shipping label
and addressed envelope were also included to facilitate return of the completed questionnaire.
Respondents also had the option of scanning and returning the questionnaire by email or fax.
Respondents were encouraged to return the survey by a specific date, which was typically three
weeks from the date at which the survey was mailed to the agency contact.

For those agencies that did not complete the questionnaire by the provided deadline, regular phone
calls and emails were made to agencies reminding them to return the completed questionnaire. IACP
staff also made outreach to non-responding agencies. Upon receipt of a completed survey, staff
from NORC contacted the pilot respondent to schedule a telephone debriefing interview, in which
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CENSUS OF STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES SERVING TRIBAL LANDS (CSLLEASTL)

responses to the survey questions were reviewed. For those agencies in which multiple staff or
departments completed the survey, NORC scheduled the debriefing interview with the person who
completed the majority of the survey.
The debriefing call included a review of the question text, response choices provided, overall ease of
providing information, and the terminology used for each question. Additionally, the length of time
needed to complete the survey, any difficulty in providing information, and preferred modes of
completing the survey were discussed on this call. Results were recorded by the NORC staff
member conducting the debriefing call and were reviewed following the call for completeness. In
two cases, agencies provided additional information following the call via email at their own
discretion. Debriefing interviews averaged 60 minutes.
DATA REVIEW
The CSLLEASTL pilot survey had four separate sections – screener questions; administration;
staffing, budgets, and training; and incident counts. Within each section were several questions
related to the topic. For the purpose of the pilot survey, a fifth section was included to elicit
feedback from participating agencies immediately upon completion of the survey. This section will
not be included in the survey for the main data collection effort. Question specific feedback is
provided in Appendix A of this report. Note that not all respondents provided feedback on each
question or provided only positive feedback on the question. In these instances, responses were not
reported in Appendix A.
Questions were completed as appropriate by each of the eight respondents except for the following:
Question Number
C1 – Total Incident Count
C1 – Tribal Land Incident Count
A8
A11
A12
B7

Number of Missing
Responses
1
3
1
1
1
1

Percent Missing
13%
38%
13%
13%
13%
13%

One agency in Alaska left three questions blank due to a mismatch between services provided in
Alaska and the terminology used in the survey, specifically the reference to “tribal lands”, as there
are no identified Indian Country or Tribal Lands in Alaska. Questions were also left blank by
respondents who did not have access to the information and were not able to contact the
appropriate person at their office to answer these questions within the timeframe provided.
For question C1, respondents left sub-questions blank for one of two reasons; the agency did not
track the information or the amount of time to provide the information was too burdensome and
would have prevented participation in the survey. Respondents reported a minimum of one to four
hours to retrieve the information requested in question C1 regarding incident counts for Tribal
Lands, if they were able to retrieve this information at all.
The following questions produced inconsistencies within the response data:
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CENSUS OF STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES SERVING TRIBAL LANDS (CSLLEASTL)

Question Number
B12
B15
B3, B5
A6

Inconsistent Response
Respondent answered ”no” but provided data for trainings – they offer
trainings every three years instead of annually
Provided a range of hours as it varies by location and tribe
“Part time” response was left blank; possibly should have been 0
Wrote in ‘unknown’ but clarified later that it was probably provided by
another agency within the muni

The average time to complete the survey, when including question C1 and reported times to
complete the survey for the three agencies that left part of C1 blank, was 2.0 hours. The estimated
time to complete the survey without question C1 was 1.4 hours. Those agencies that left this
question blank estimated that it would take anywhere from several hours to many weeks to gather
the information requested for incident counts occurring on tribal lands.
Reported Questionnaire Burden
Time to complete
questionnaire without C1

Time to complete
questionnaire with C1 –
Total incident count

100100

Estimate not provided

2 hours

100200

Estimate not provided

2 hours

100300
100400

Estimate not provided
45 minutes

2 hours
4 hours

100500

Estimate not provided

30 minutes

100600

1 hour

3 hours

100700

1 hour

4 hours

100800

20 minutes

Not provided

Agency

Time to complete
only C1 – Tribal
Lands incident
count
Two additional
weeks
Impossible to
obtain data
Days or weeks
No additional time
needed
Impossible to
obtain data
Impossible to
obtain data
Impossible to
obtain data
Not provided

RECOMMENDATIONS
Overall, it took much longer to receive completed surveys back than anticipated. The initial due
date in the cover letter requesting that the agency participate was typically between two to three
weeks for each agency, though some agencies received a shorter due date if they were late to join the
Pilot Survey or stated that they could accommodate a shorter due date. Agencies were asked if a due
date might encourage faster response. Pilot respondents reported overwhelmingly that a due date
would prevent the survey from being deprioritized by their office. Agencies recommended between
two to four weeks as a reasonable amount of time to complete the survey and suggested that
anything longer than four weeks would result in the survey being deprioritized.

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CENSUS OF STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES SERVING TRIBAL LANDS (CSLLEASTL)

Agencies were also asked about the best mode in which to contact them. Most agencies reported
that an initial mailing of a hard copy survey was preferred, with no clear preference on follow up
outreach. Some agencies reported that email would be the best method to reach them while others
thought that a phone call would be the most effective way. Many agencies also reported that they
would have completed the survey online, with the assistance of a hard copy survey, or would have
completed the survey in a PDF form document and returned it via email. The majority of agencies
did state the hardcopy survey was useful when requesting assistance from other staff within their
office or tracking their own completion of the survey prior to returning the survey.
Based on the eight questions which served to elicit feedback about the survey and the in-depth
debriefing interviews, the following changes to the survey instrument are recommended:
• Agencies indicated having the most difficulty responding to question C1. This was due to
having insufficient tracking systems, procedures or staff in place to report incidents that
occurred on tribal land and, in some cases, difficulties in defining “tribal lands.” Agencies
also reported local political and funding issues or relationships with tribes as possible barriers
to implementing tracking at this level, as well as difficulties in defining “tribal lands” borders
and geographic boundaries in their particular area. As discussed above, respondents
reported needing between 60 to 240 minutes to provide a response to question C1, if this
data was available. As this question is most critical for the SLJASTL program, it is
recommended that during the main data collection language is included that responders skip
the question if it cannot be answered in a timely manner.
• Agencies also mentioned that the definitions provided at C1 were not needed as they were
familiar with reporting crimes to the Uniform Crime Reports. It is recommended that we
include a URL to a web resource that respondents may access for clarification on a particular
definition.
• Some respondents felt that a “not applicable” or “secondary responder” column for
questions A5, A6, and A7 would be helpful and capture more accurate information. Some
respondents left some of these items blank rather than selecting ‘no’ because they thought
that a ‘no’ response implied that the service was provided for non-tribal areas but not tribal
areas. Respondents also indicated that their agency might be a secondary responder for
these types of crimes/activities and would not respond in all cases.
• At question A16, the term “mandated point of contact” may need to be revised. For PL-280
states in particular, this was interpreted to mean a point of contact appointed by the
government under the PL-280 mandate. One agency suggested “agency head” as an alternate
term and another suggested “tribal liaison”.
• For the question about the budget, the term ‘fiscal year’ was reported as confusing for one
agency and two others reported being unsure if we wanted 2014 at the start or end of the
fiscal period. One agency suggested that the term ‘2014/2015 budget cycle for the upcoming
2016 survey might be clearer.
• Nearly all agencies had difficulty answering question B7 because they do not track the
operating budget in this manner. Agencies used a variety of calculations to provide an
estimate, with some relying on the number of officers dedicated to patrol on tribal lands and
providing their time as a percentage of the agency while others relied on crime counts. In
every case, agencies provided an estimate and stated that an exact number would be
impossible to provide. Agencies reported anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes to estimate a
response to this question.
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•

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CENSUS OF STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES SERVING TRIBAL LANDS (CSLLEASTL)

Our pilot agency in the state of Alaska was concerned that the instrument may not fully
capture policing on tribal lands within the state of Alaska because of differences in how
‘tribal lands’ are defined in the state of Alaska. As a result of legislation specific to the state
of Alaska, the term ‘tribal land’ refers to a single reservation in the state, but most Alaska
Natives live in Alaska Native Villages or within urban areas, neither of which are referred to
as tribal lands. He suggested that by using the term ‘tribal lands’, it is likely that relatively few
agencies in the state will self-identify as being eligible to participate.

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CENSUS OF STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES SERVING TRIBAL LANDS (CSLLEASTL)

APPENDIX A: CSLLEASTL PILOT TEST DEBRIEFING RESPONSES
Question Feedback‐Law Enforcement Agencies
S1. – Screener
Respondent ID
100100
S2.
Respondent ID
100100
100200
100300
S3.
Respondent ID
100400

Feedback
This is fine
Feedback
Had to research what PL‐280 meant and if the agency functioned under it.
Yes – this is how they knew for sure that they were supposed to be included in
survey. Because they serve many different reservations that they serve, there was a
little ambiguity.
Might be difficult for somebody not familiar with legislation or who is not in a state
with PL‐280. May want to include a definition of what PL‐280 means.
Feedback
Interpreted it to mean the contract they have with one of their tribes, so very easy
to answer. They would be mandated to go to the tribe anyway since this is a PL‐280
state, but they included the contract.

Are the screener questions a comprehensive and accurate way to identify agencies that provide
services on tribal lands? Is the terminology too restrictive or too general?
Respondent ID
100100
100200

100300

100500
100600

Feedback
Yes, they work directly with two tribes. However, she had to do some research to
find out exactly how PL‐280 applied to their office since tribes have the ability to
opt out of jurisdiction.
Generally, the list was comprehensive – they didn’t have to write anything in for the
‘other’ response. However, because he wasn’t sure what we were looking for as
the end result of the survey or how it would be used (i.e. for budgeting), it was
difficult to provide answers at the time.
Easy to identify if you are eligible. Somebody without experience may have some
difficulties if they don’t know what PL‐280 covers. In this case, very easy for this
agency to screen in. They have consensual agreements, so language in S3 was easily
applied to agency.
These questions were fine and easy to answer. Familiar with meaning of PL‐280.
This should be easy to answer if the Sheriff knows their jurisdiction and laws, they
should be okay.

A1. – Agreements/Contracts/Types of Functions
Respondent ID
Feedback
Good, provided wide range of choices. Suggested maybe adding court services to
100100
this list.
100300
Very easy to respond for this because they only have MOUs in place. No other
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100400
100500

100600

A2.
Respondent ID
100200
100300
100400
A3.
Respondent ID
100200
100300
100500
A4.
Respondent ID
100100

100200

100300

100500

15

CENSUS OF STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES SERVING TRIBAL LANDS (CSLLEASTL)

options needed.
Answering S3 first helped provide guidance when answering this question.
Pretty clear for this agency. They use MOUs primarily. Three way deputization
agreements are kind of vague. Maybe add “as a sheriff, do you deputize tribal
officers” and a second question if the tribe deputizes the officers from non‐tribal
policing.
Pretty easy to answer because they operate under PL‐280 or let [local tribe with
their own tribal police] their own calls. They have verbal or informal agreements –
option two probably would have applied, though they initially left the question
blank.
Feedback
Didn’t include all tribes because some weren’t federally recognized. Also didn’t
provide the full list because he was driving and wasn’t able to write down.
Didn’t have to look anything up, from memory. Five minutes to type.
This was easy – he has a list of tribes available.
Feedback
Not sure exactly what this question means. What does consultation and
coordination mean? They need to follow the law, which means that they follow PL‐
280.
Pretty certain of the response options. Ended up revisiting this question later to
confirm the questions.
Text was helpful – paragraph before that is. Not a problem.
Feedback
Office doesn’t provide emergency services, but other departments that are a part
of the county government do provide these services. May result in unclear data for
this agency and others like it ‐‐ they are a department in the county office, which
has other departments that offer emergency services.
This can change very rapidly – tribal government changes, which can sometimes
change the agreements that they have with a tribe. This was also very difficult to
answer because he didn’t really feel any guidance on what the point of this survey
was.
Had to remind himself that if it applied to one tribe, it was a ‘yes’. First responder
for some tribes; sometimes secondary responder. May need clarification to answer
yes for primary or secondary responder. The only question he had was for F – they
don’t dispatch for the tribe, but the tribal dispatchers would dispatch their officers.
G. They don’t routinely do this, but they are considered a resource agency with the
Special Investigations Unit for smaller agencies/on behalf of tribes, especially if it
was officer involved or if it is a complex investigation.
May want to move this question to follow A1 so it feels less redundant or possibly
move A1. Not sure what a law enforcement provision agreements are. Not many
law enforcement agencies that provide social services. This seems sort of

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CENSUS OF STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES SERVING TRIBAL LANDS (CSLLEASTL)

redundant because we just asked what types of agreements they have.
A5.
Respondent ID
100100

100300
100500

100600
A6.
Respondent ID
100100

100400

100500

A7.
Respondent ID
100400
100500
100800

Feedback
Their office is a primary responder for some of these cases but then would
immediately turn it over to federal government. May want to add a “primary
responder” “other responder option”. Had to request help because it was
information that wasn’t readily available to her.
May want to change option C ‐ Possible wording change from accident investigation
to crash/collision investigation.
If there had been a not applicable category, they might have used that instead of
No – or even “referred to another agency”. They didn’t want to give the impression
they decided to provide services to non‐tribal lands and not to tribal lands. There
are some services that they just don’t provide because they are a state‐level
agency. The FBI would handle more severe crimes.
Would have used a ‘secondary responder’ category if provided. In general, they try
to not respond unless it is requested.

Feedback
She wrote in unknown to indicate that this is provided by a different department
within the municipality – this law enforcement agency is considered to be a
department within the list of services provided by the county. Maybe include NA,
primary, secondary.
Are we specifically talking about just the agencies we have agreements with, or all
agencies that we have mandates over? If they don’t have the authority to perform
these under an agreement. What do we mean by “agreements”? The question may
need to be structured as “what services do you provide pursuant to your written
agreement and what do you provide under PL‐280.
Might have used the “not applicable” category for this one as well. For example,
school crossing services – they don’t provide it, so it would have been not
applicable. They wouldn’t select “no” because it implies that they provide this
service to non‐tribal lands but not to tribal lands.
Feedback
They provide these services regardless of whether or not there is an agreement –
they have a mandate to perform these services, whether or not the tribe agrees to
this action.
No problems with this. Could have also used a not applicable.
This is a very difficult question to answer. They have agreements with some
locations, not for all locations. Maybe add some clarification for if it applies to only
some agencies/locations.

A8. – Information Sharing
Respondent ID
Feedback
100100
Had to speak with somebody in a different department to get answer.
16

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100200

100600

CENSUS OF STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES SERVING TRIBAL LANDS (CSLLEASTL)

Not legally able to have this information unless the tribe is a full‐fledged law
enforcement agency, so this was a very easy question to answer. They can provide
a little information, if he knew what the survey was looking for; he might have
answered this differently.
Interpreted this as a formal agreement – they do have an informal working
relationship. Do we mean a formal agreement or informal agreement – should
clarify this.

A10.
A11.
Respondent ID
100100
100200

100300
A12.
Respondent ID
100200
A13.
Respondent ID
100200
100300
100700

A14.
Respondent ID
100300

100400

17

Feedback
Unsure on how to answer because of their own internal changes. Not sure if
another response category would have helped. Her response probably should have
been ‘no’ but she wasn’t sure if that was correct at the time and left it blank.
Clear, but what we are asking about would be very difficult to implement. The
difficulty is identifying the lands and then only getting reports from those areas. He
doesn’t have quadrants or something listed in his CMS to get that out separately.
He can get street and city names, but not whether it is tribal or non‐tribal lands.
They think they may be changing this in the near future. Developing it/in the
process of developing it. Will probably have it in a year.

Feedback
Fine – may want to add “NIBRS” to this because not every state is UCR
Feedback
Really not sure that any data system will have the ability to report these statistics
unless the lands are identified in a manner in that you can easily look this up.
Good ‐‐ Really answers the issues that they are experiencing.
Other specify response – they are capable of doing it based on Alaska Native
background – but they cannot pull this information out based on if it occurred on
‘tribal lands’.

Feedback
Clear, but not sure what “officials” meant – are we including elected officials but
also law enforcement issues, this changes. Not including operational staff in
“meeting with officials” – they meet with operational staff on a much more regular
basis. They coordinate with LE officers and elected leaders.
For tribal officials, they interpreted that to mean anyone who was a member of the
tribal council or who acts in an official capacity for the tribe. For “meeting”, how
official do we expect this to be? Does it need to be formal and scheduled? Should
we drop “other recurring events” because this could include making an appearance
at annual summer festival?

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A15.
Respondent ID
100100
100200
A16.
Respondent ID
100200
100300
100400

100600

A17.
Respondent ID
100100

B1.
Respondent ID
100200

100400
100500
100600

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CENSUS OF STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES SERVING TRIBAL LANDS (CSLLEASTL)

Feedback
Assumed this to mean executive leadership, not administrative employees. If we
wanted to know how often they were working with operational level staff, we may
need to specify this.
Fine, but they do meet with some tribes more often or less often, so he picked
about an average of how often he met with each tribe.
Feedback
Clear – however, with different tribes, this makes it complicated. Some tribes have
mandated points of contact within their tribe, but not within his department.
Easy to answer. However, they have a tribal liaison, but he suspects that there are
things happening that are not going through the point of contact, even though the
mandated contact should be notified.
Interpreted this to mean “have we, as an organization, established a mandatory
point of contact within the agency” – but there is no mandated requirement to
have a point a contact. “Does your agency have a full or part time liaison position
that works with the tribes?”
Pretty easy – they don’t have a mandated point of contact. Any one of the staff can
have contact with tribe. “Mandated” – federal or state law, rather than mandated
by an agency. “Agency head” would be a better term for this particular agency.
Feedback
Response options were great, made her think that maybe they were doing more
within the agency that she did not know about personally, but she couldn’t find
anybody in the agency with knowledge of these activities that could provide
additional information on services they were providing.
Feedback
Provided this information on his own because he works on the budget. Very easy to
answer. You might also want to make the frame of reference the same for budget
and crime stats because you are otherwise doing an apple to oranges comparison if
you want to compare what they have in resources compared to how many
incidents they handle. This agency does not track budget and case counts for the
same time frame.
Pretty straight forward. However, was curious why we asked about fiscal year
rather than calendar year.
Understood that we are asking for statistical data for calendar year later but asking
for fiscal year for budget. The two dates aren’t the same though, so you may not be
getting comparable data for the stats vs the budget.
This was a little difficult to answer initially – we should specify that we want “year
ending 2014” or some other note to indicate what year the fiscal year should be
ending in. They’ll say “2014/2015 budget cycle” – not “fiscal year”. Suggest change
or addition of “budget cycle”

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B2. ‐ Staffing
Respondent ID
100200
100300

B3.
Respondent ID
100100

100300
B4.
Respondent ID
100100

100400

B5.
Respondent ID
100400

B6. ‐ Budgets
Respondent ID
100100
100200

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CENSUS OF STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES SERVING TRIBAL LANDS (CSLLEASTL)

Feedback
Fine to answer. Some agencies have cross‐deputized people, but he knew for
certain that his agency did not.
Clear – clarification would be helpful if this is a “if yes to one reservation, then say
yes” question like in section A. However, there are many officers that respond to a
variety of reservations but do not have this as their primary responsibility – these
officers were not included in the count.

Feedback
Maybe change to “how many officers are assigned as a part of their duties to
provide patrol to tribal lands”. They do not track this because staff patrols both
tribal and non‐tribal lands without tracking this through GPS, GIS, or something
else.
Had to check administrative records in system to confirm this was still the case.
There are sometimes more or less officers depending on transfers

Feedback
Not sure what we meant by ‘stationed’. Suggested: State that their primary
responsibility is to the tribe, rather than unincorporated residents living on tribal
lands. Not sure what the difference was between B2 and B4. She thinks this is
probably the same thing and not sure there is a lot of value in asking for the
difference.
For PL‐280 states, this will be problematic because they won’t necessarily have
people stationed on tribal lands. What exactly do we mean by “stationed”? For
example, we have a sheriff station two miles away from the reservation but the
deputies who work the contract stop in to the tribal law enforcement office but
they aren’t “stationed” there by definition. They don’t have any facilities that are
constructed on tribal lands.

Feedback
The number of officers who were reported here were officially stationed outside of
tribal lands, but so much of their work is on tribal lands that they are effectively
stationed on tribal lands.
Feedback
Easy, was able to pull an estimate off the top of her head, could have provided an
exact number with a little research if the estimate box had not been there.
Did not provide an exact number. Would have taken additional time was needed to
provide an exact number.

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100400
100500

B7.
Respondent ID
100100
100200

100300
100400

100500
100700

B8.
Respondent ID
100400
B9.
Respondent ID
100200
100300
B10.
Respondent ID
100100
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CENSUS OF STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES SERVING TRIBAL LANDS (CSLLEASTL)

The respondent stated that they pulled this information from a Department of
Justice website that is updated in early July, but did not respond to follow up
questions about this.
Fine as long as estimate box was present. For an exact number, would have been a
phone call to somebody else. Clarification text wasn’t necessary with caveat – what
does a “major equipment purchase” mean. For example, police car purchase is in
the operating budget and would be included in this provided amount, even though
you would probably consider a police car to be a major equipment purchase
Feedback
Do not track this because area beat overlaps tribal and non‐tribal land.
3% was definitely an estimate off the top of his head, might be higher, but
impossible to know. Wasn’t sure exactly what to include – do we mean just law
enforcement functions, or also support functions? It would have been impossible
for him to provide an exact number.
This question was difficult to answer. The respondent needed 10 to 15 minutes to
provide estimates.
This is a difficult question to answer – he divided the budget by the number of staff
and then multiplied it by the number of staff that work on tribal lands. It takes a lot
of things into consideration – impossible to provide specific number without many
hours of work and an accounting degree.
Provided this estimate as a ‘per capita basis’ for population. It would be impossible
to provide an exact number. He has a deputy assigned to that geographic area, but
otherwise difficult separate out.
This should have been “don’t know” – nothing specific gets allocated and they don’t
break it down in this way. They weren’t sure if they should do some math based on
the number of officers located in the “bush”, but probably would have used that
method if they absolutely had to provide an answer. Nothing specific gets allocated
for serving tribal members.

Feedback
Easy to answer. Interpreted it to mean the contract that they have with the single
tribe.

Feedback
Not sure what “indirectly” means – you get it directly, or you don’t get it. The only
thing he could think of for indirect money would be sharing a grant or maybe
something along those lines. Maybe include an example of what indirect means.
No difficulties provided; R isn’t sure where this estimate came from or the source of
the funding because somebody else answered this.

Feedback
Clarification was necessary. They did receive funding from tribes, but clarification

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100200
100300
100500
B11.
Respondent ID
100300
B12. ‐ Training
Respondent ID
100100
100200
100400
B14.
Respondent ID
100400

B15.
Respondent ID
100200
100300

B16.
Respondent ID
100200
100300

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CENSUS OF STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES SERVING TRIBAL LANDS (CSLLEASTL)

helped. Maybe add “outside funding from non‐tribal sources”.
Fine, but if he had a better idea of what we were looking for, he might have
changed answer. He also felt that this question was redundant since we just asked
this question. He interpreted this as the same as B9.
Wasn’t sure if we wanted to ask for the amount as well or if that would have added
any value to the data we are collecting.
Question was fine. Pretty redundant and maybe not necessary since we asked the
same in B8.

Feedback
They weren’t sure if we wanted the amount, but it would have been easy to
provide if we had asked for it.

Feedback
If we want any training, we should specify if we want to know about formal training
or any on the job or informal training.
Clear, but interpreted it as anybody in his agency. When new people come in, they
have to learn about PL‐280 so he included that as training. Additionally, he went to
a PL‐280 class that he included.
Very easy to answer because this is one of the priorities that this R’s unit takes care
of. This section was very easy to answer.
Feedback
Would leave this as a stand‐alone question. One of the things he found to be
problematic is that many agencies that interact with tribes don’t receive adequate
training on PL‐280 specifically.

Feedback
Very loose estimate of the number of hours provided to new officers. This is an
estimate at best, would have had to call some people to find out specific answer.
Good, but not all tribes require the same amount. Needed to provide a range to
answer this question. Suggested wording “prior to enforcing law with tribal
members” rather than on tribal lands.
Feedback
Interpreting this as a global statement even though one or two people do some
training of this – but difficult to track and parse this out. There are also just not that
many classes available even if they wanted to do this.
Will be relatively low in general because you have so few officers that receive any
training, it will be close to 0. And in general, for this agency, there is almost no

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CENSUS OF STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES SERVING TRIBAL LANDS (CSLLEASTL)

annual training. There is only training required at the start of hire or training in the
academy that effectively lasts for the duration of an officer’s career.
B17.
Respondent ID
100400
100500
B18.
Respondent ID
100100
100300
B20.
Respondent ID
100100
100200
100300
B21.
Respondent ID
100100
100200

100300
100400

Feedback
Not difficult for him to answer, but “deputize” could be moved to the definitions
section as well. Consider this text: “extend to tribal law officers all the same powers
that officers from your office hold”
Add a second question here asking if the tribe deputizes officers and then eliminate
that three way option from question A1.

Feedback
When she answered this, she referred back to the agreements she selected under
question A1.
Maybe clarify that deputation should be from law enforcement to tribal officers
and not the other way around – unless it’s okay to include this.
Feedback
Very good, covered a lot of things. Might add “Essential skills training”, though this
has overlap with other categories.
Pretty good list. When we have in‐house type training, they are allowed to sign up if
they want.
May want to add clarification that this doesn’t need to be mandated training, as
well for B19.
Feedback
Wasn’t able to answer that fully. Answered to the best of her knowledge. It might
be better to have this structured as ‘yes, no, unknown’. Particularly because we are
asking about agencies outside of the department [law enforcement agency].
Not sure what “region” means. He might have selected more options if he had
more time to dedicate to the survey. POST doesn’t provide training – wasn’t sure if
this wording was correct. POST‐approved training might be better
phrasing/terminology for that response option.
Added private contractor as an option. There are some private groups that provide
risk management and other training either for fees or for advertising purposes. At
least a couple of former tribal police chiefs that provide training.
What do we mean by region? Local? State as a whole?

C1. – Number and types of cases; case dispositions
Respondent ID
Feedback
For total incidents known to the agency, this would be UCR information. So the first
100100
column are known, but are not entered. Don’t have enough support staff to keep
up with LE activity.

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CENSUS OF STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES SERVING TRIBAL LANDS (CSLLEASTL)

Maybe change this to “the last calendar year where you have statistics” and enter
the calendar year. A lot of agencies are behind in report data and providing
flexibility of reporting previous year may result in more data being reported.
100200

Did not need those definitions – they deal with UCR all the time. However, if it’s a
NIBRS state, they might need to look it up. Might just put a link – probably don’t
need this.

100300

Left side was very easy. Right side were estimates based on a few numbers they
could pull up.
There was also a breakdown for a few responses – do we want to make these
separate or ask that they collapse them. Tribal numbers took about five minutes to
provide. This should improve with records management system.

100400
100500

They didn’t answer this question because it would have taken a minimum of two to
three hours to provide, though they could have provided it.
Definitions were unnecessary – this can probably be removed. If an agency had a
problem with the definition, they could probably just look this up instead. The
numbers provided were exact numbers for total counts. Add a box that says that
they don’t track the information for tribal lands specifically.
This office will never track information for tribal lands. The tribe tracks this
information and told the LE agency that they report back to BIA, which has the
numbers. The agency has not tried to obtain the numbers themselves, but this is
what they were told. There would never be a need to track this information at this
office.

If the information is estimates: What level of effort would be needed to provide actual values in this
chart?
Respondent ID
Feedback
Gave this to the records person. This was pretty easy for them to pull total crime
100200
numbers because they have to report it so often. Every law enforcement agency
reports this, so we should change the ‘do not track’ option to “do not track tribal”
or make two different “do not track” boxes. However, it is basically impossible to
provide tribal counts based on current resources, staffing, and available systems.
100300
For all tribes, he would need to contact every district commander (16 total) and
each would need to pull information and then forward it. It would potentially take
days or weeks to gather this information.
100400

They could provide both. The disclaimer is “garbage in, garbage out”. They have the
ability to delineate between in/out of Indian Country, but if the staff doesn’t use it
in report, it won’t get included in the numbers. They have a disposition system in
place, but there is such a volume of work that it is impossible to know if it is
accurate. Definitions are not needed – they know what UCR definitions.

100500

BIA does all of this as of July 1st. Nationwide – DOJ tracks this and then BIA tracks

23

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CENSUS OF STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES SERVING TRIBAL LANDS (CSLLEASTL)

the tribal land criminal activities.

100600

Actual work was easy once they got the data – taken from the DOJ website that
required his log in credentials. He waited until the data was available to return the
survey. It added a few weeks to the return time.
This was very easy to answer on the left side (for total counts), for tribal, they don’t
have an easy way to answer this. This took about two hours to pull – this is with a
new system.
To get this information on tribal crimes specifically, they would need to consult with
the tribes. For crimes where they are secondary responders and have been called in
to respond, they don’t systematically track what has occurred on tribal lands vs.
non‐tribal lands. Since they’re not primary responders, not a great need to track
this.
Liked having the definitions on the side of the page.

C2.
Respondent ID
100300

24

Feedback
There needs to be some clarification on incidents involving tribal members on
Indian country or if the incident occurs on non‐tribal lands, the answer will change.
Response would change if we were to clarify where the incident occurred.

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C3.
Respondent ID
100100
100200
100300

CENSUS OF STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES SERVING TRIBAL LANDS (CSLLEASTL)

Feedback
Question is clear. They have a matrix within the MOU with the tribes that have the
categories of where the crime occurred, which she referred to when answering this
question.
Depends – they don’t refer criminal matters to tribe. If it’s something that requires
actual record keeping, this is going to go to law enforcement.
Same thing would apply as for C2 – if this was on Indian Country/tribal lands, then it
would go strictly to tribal justice authorities.

General Questions:
Was it difficult to complete the survey?
Respondent ID
Feedback
100100
Pretty daunting; better to do the next time and be more efficient, but this isn’t
something as an agency that they often have to answer.
If the agency works with more than 1 tribe—Was it clear that the questions were asking about services
provided to any tribe and not for all tribes with which you have agreements?
Respondent ID
Feedback
100100
Yes
100300
We need to specify this for the entire survey if it also applies to section. Activity
and time program from officers summary for numbers of officer working on
reservation. Other people used systems that he is not familiar with – they’re
tracking it somewhere.
What systems/records did you use to complete the survey?
Respondent ID
Feedback
Used training database, people, email. Would have used records management
100100
system
100200
referred to some records
Own memory/knowledge, budget questions – referred back to internal website,
100400
crime stats would have been provided by crime analysts.
Department of Justice records, National Incidence Based Reporting Systems, mostly
100500
from memory.
About how long did it take you to complete the survey?
Respondent ID
Feedback
100100
Two hours
100200
Two hours
100300
Two hours
100400
45 minutes if you don’t include question C1
100500
30 minutes

Were you able to complete the survey all at once or did it require multiple sessions?
Respondent ID
Feedback
25

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100100
100300
100500

CENSUS OF STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES SERVING TRIBAL LANDS (CSLLEASTL)

Multiple sessions
Made photocopies of the survey and provided them to others and then he copied it
over. He had done some preliminary marks and then returned to it once he got
some responses.
Multiple sessions

Was the level of effort to complete the survey appropriate for the questions the survey asked?
Respondent ID
Feedback
Difficult part was “why am I doing all of this work?” Took a lot of time and took a lot
100100
of input for questions that seemed somewhat random – she was trying to
determine if DOJ was looking at allocating resources differently or had value in
conversation of Tribal policing in the United States, it would have helped her get
information from other people because she would have been able to explain the
value.
Level of effort was appropriate for the questions we asked and the topic we’re
100300
asking about
In your opinion, would it be better to provide a due date for the survey or should we ask for it to be
returned as soon as possible?
Respondent ID
Feedback
100200
Due dates are helpful. Between two and four weeks to get it back.
Due dates always force us to act – two weeks should be a reasonable amount of
100300
time to complete this. Agency that only interacts with a few tribes shouldn’t take
too long to complete this.
Definitely provide a due date – about four to six weeks would be more than enough
100400
time to allow people to gather the information and complete it.
100500

A due date is always good. Two weeks to complete the survey – otherwise it would
get buried in an inbox somewhere.

In your opinion, what mode of communication would be most effective in reminding you to complete
the survey: telephone calls, e‐mails, faxes or mailings?
Respondent ID
Feedback
Not sure – it was handed off to somebody, not who we originally sent it to. Phone
100100
call or email would have helped us establish who had it. Wouldn’t spend the money
on the paper mailing reminder. If this was done online, this would definitely have to
have been done in multiple sessions but she still needed a paper copy of the survey
but she would have completed it online.
100200
Not sure where it’s going to go – phone call, maybe figure out who gets it. Or send
out an email or phone call about who the most appropriate person in the
department is to do it and then follow up directly with them.
Best reminders would be email and then phone call, as well as copying the boss on
100300
the reminder email. If provided a web option, would have been more likely to
answer it online, but still would have needed the hardcopy survey to provide copies
to others.
100400
Email – and make the survey as a PDF form to fill out so I can complete it on my
26

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100500

27

CENSUS OF STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES SERVING TRIBAL LANDS (CSLLEASTL)

tablet.
Emails are the best

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CENSUS OF STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES SERVING TRIBAL LANDS (CSLLEASTL)

APPENDIX B: CSLLEASTL PILOT LETTER AND DEBRIEFING INTERVIEW SCRIPT

28

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CENSUS OF STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES SERVING TRIBAL LANDS (CSLLEASTL)

U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Bureau of Justice Statistics
Washington, D.C. 20531

Dear <> <>:
The U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), is conducting a pilot test of the
survey instrument for its Census of State and Local Justice Agencies Serving Tribal Lands (SLJASTL) and is
asking your agency to participate. The goal of the SLJASTL is to identify the justice system
attributes, policies, and practices of non-tribal law enforcement on tribal lands. The study will be
most impactful if it is informed by persons, like you, who are directly involved in the provision of
law enforcement services on tribal lands. NORC at the University of Chicago is the data collection
agent for the SLJASTL. The National Sheriffs Association (NSA) and International Association of
Chiefs of Police (IACP) are also assisting us with this important study.
Your participation in the pilot test is voluntary. However, without your input, we will not have a
complete picture of the quality of the instrument and data collection procedures before the main
study is launched. Consistent with its mission, BJS is authorized to collect these data and will use
them solely for research and statistical purposes only as described in Title 42, U.S.C. §3735 and
§3789g. We take confidentiality and human subject protection very seriously. Your cooperation in
providing us this information will greatly assist this study. To participate in the pilot survey, please
fill out the enclosed questionnaire in its entirety and return it to NORC, using the provided
envelope. It should take about thirty minutes to fill out.
Upon receipt of your completed questionnaire, an NORC representative will contact you to arrange
a time to discuss the survey. The debriefing should only take a few minutes of your time and we will
use your feedback to revise the questionnaire and data collection procedures prior to the national
data collection effort. In order to complete the pilot test in a timely manner, we ask that you
complete the survey by June 3, 2015.
We hope that you will be able to help us with this review. If you need assistance with the
questionnaire, please contact NORC toll-free at 1- 877-253-2087 or via e-mail at [email protected].
Also, please feel free to contact Andrew Tiedt, the BJS Project Manager, at 1-202-616-3892 or via email at [email protected] should you have any questions about the pre-test activities.
Sincerely,

William J. Sabol, Ph.D.
Director
Enclosure
29

NORC

CENSUS OF STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES SERVING TRIBAL LANDS (CSLLEASTL)

CONTACTING SCRIPT
Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies Serving Tribal Lands
Pilot Test
Feedback Script
Hi,
My name is
and I’m calling on behalf of the Bureau of Justice Statistics regarding the Census of
State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies Serving Tribal Lands pilot. May I please speak to
?
I’m calling regarding the Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies Serving Tribal Lands pilot
survey you recently completed for us. Thank you so much for completing the survey. Could we schedule
a time to conduct a debriefing of the survey? It shouldn’t take more than one hour.
If can do right away….make sure they have copy of completed survey in front of them.
Great, so let me walk you through the basic process of how the debriefing will work. We’ll go through
the survey questions, and for each I’ll ask you a couple of questions about the clarity of the question, the
response choices and your overall ease at providing the information. We will also talk about how long
the survey took to complete and review your responses to the feedback questions on the survey. I have
your survey responses in front of me. Do you have any questions before we start?
For each question, probe for:
Anything that was unclear or confusing in the wording or any terminology that needed to be
better defined.
Any response options which were unclear, confusing, overlapping, or missing.
Any requested information that was not available and could not be reasonably provided. If not
able to provide: What steps would be necessary to get the information?

30

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ALASKA SURVEY

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REMAINING FIFTEEN PL-280 STATES’ SURVEY

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54

U. S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Bureau of Justice Statistics

Washington, D.C. 20531

[Date]

[SUID]

(PNAME) (PTITLE)
(AGENCYNAME)
(PADDR)
(PCITY), (PSTATE) (PZIP)
Dear (PNAME),
I am writing to request your participation in the 2016 Survey of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies
Serving Tribal Lands, conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago (NORC) on behalf of the U.S.
Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. The survey is part of a larger effort by BJS called the State and
Local Justice Agencies Serving Tribal Lands (SLJASTL) program. The SLJASTL is the first effort to collect
data from law enforcement agencies and prosecutor offices that serve tribal lands in states governed by Public Law
83-280.
Your agency is one of approximately 4,000 state and local general purpose law enforcement agencies residing in
states governed by Public Law 83-280, which transfers jurisdiction over some of the crime occurring on tribal lands
from the federal law enforcement agencies to the state law enforcement agencies. Your agency may have
jurisdiction over crimes occurring on tribal lands, making your agency eligible for the survey. The SSLEASTL was
designed by BJS in collaboration with state and local law enforcement agencies providing services to tribal lands
and is intended to collect information on agency characteristics, staffing, training, budgets, workload, and
information sharing among law enforcement agencies. Data from the SSLEASTL will be reported in a BJS
publication.
Data collected for the SSLEASTL will provide needed information to law enforcement agencies, federal agencies
and other stakeholders working on tribal lands. The International Association of Chiefs of Police / National Sheriffs
Association* has provided support for this data collection, participating in the development of the questions,
establishing the criteria for agency eligibility, and providing the enclosed letter of support.
In approximately a week, you will receive an invitation from NORC to complete the survey. If you have questions
regarding the SLJASTL data collection, please contact NORC at [email protected] or at 1-877-253-2087. If you
have general comments about the SLJASTL program, please contact Suzanne Strong, BJS project manager at
[email protected].
The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is authorized to conduct this data collection under 42 U.S.C. § 3732(c). BJS,
BJS employees, and BJS data collection agents will use the information you provide only for statistical or research
purposes pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 3735 (section 304 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968
(Pub. L. No. 90-351), as amended), and will protect it to the fullest extent under federal law. For more information
on the federal statutes, regulations, and other authorities that govern how BJS, BJS employees, and BJS data
collection agents collect, handle, store, disseminate, and protect your information, see the BJS Data Protection
Guidelines -(https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/BJS_Data_Protection_Guidelines.pdf).
Thank you in advance for your time and consideration in helping BJS on this important survey.
Sincerely,
Jeri M. Mulrow, Acting Director
Enclosure
* The letter of support included in the mail will align with the agency type.

55

Dear Current Chief of Police,
There is a gap in the understanding of the services that state and local law enforcement agencies
provide on tribal lands. These services can be provided either through legislation (e.g., Public
Law 83-280) or consensual agreements between tribal, state, and local governments. However,
little is known about these unique and often complex relationships.
To better understand this, the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) has
funded the State and Local Justice Agencies Serving Tribal Lands (SLJASTL) program to collect
information from state and local prosecutor offices and law enforcement agencies that provide
services on tribal lands.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) is working with the data collection
agent, NORC at the University of Chicago, on this program. All state and local law enforcement
agencies that provided services on tribal lands in 2016 are asked to complete the Survey of State
and Local Law Enforcement Agencies Serving Tribal Lands (SSLLEASTL) form.
The IACP fully supports this data collection effort and asks that your agency complete and return
the SSLLEASTL form to NORC. Information on the administration, operations, and caseloads
for law enforcement agencies that provide services to tribal lands could have a significant impact
on current and future relationships. For example, many agencies that serve tribal lands may not
be aware of the number and types of agreements that similar agencies in other states may have
with tribal governments. These data may help to inform law enforcement agencies and policymakers when communicating with tribal governments about the policing of tribal lands.
We encourage all law enforcement agencies to participate and if you need assistance with the
form, please contact NORC toll-free at 1- 877-253-2087 or via e-mail at [email protected].
We thank you in advance for your help. Upon completion of the study, BJS will produce a report
and distribute the findings and data set. Please complete the survey and return it to NORC as
soon as possible.
Sincerely,

Enclosure

*Text is pending IACP signature.

56

Dear Current Sheriff,
There is a gap in the understanding of the services that state and local law enforcement agencies
provide on tribal lands. These services can be provided either through legislation (e.g., Public
Law 83-280) or consensual agreements between tribal, state, and local governments. However,
little is known about these unique and often complex relationships.
To better understand this, the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) has
funded the State and Local Justice Agencies Serving Tribal Lands (SLJASTL) program to collect
information from state and local prosecutor offices and law enforcement agencies that provide
services on tribal lands.
The National Sheriff’s Association (NSA) is working with the data collection agent, NORC at
the University of Chicago, on this program. All state and local law enforcement agencies,
including sheriff’s offices that provided services on tribal lands in 2016 are asked to complete
the Survey of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies Serving Tribal Lands (SSLLEASTL)
form.
The NSA fully supports this data collection effort and asks that your office complete and return
the SSLLEASTL form to NORC. Information on the administration, operations, and caseloads
for law enforcement agencies that provide services to tribal lands could have a significant impact
on current and future relationships. For example, many agencies that serve tribal lands may not
be aware of the number and types of agreements that similar agencies in other states may have
with tribal governments. These data may help to inform law enforcement agencies and policymakers when communicating with tribal governments about the policing of tribal lands.
We encourage all sheriffs to participate and if you need assistance with the form, please contact
NORC toll-free at 1-877-253-2087 or via e-mail at [email protected].
We thank you in advance for your help. Upon completion of the study, BJS will produce a report
and distribute the findings and data set.
Sincerely,

Enclosure

*Text is pending NSA signature.

57

[Date]
[Name &Address]

[SUID]

Dear (NAME),
The U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is currently conducting the Survey of State and Local
Law Enforcement Agencies Serving Tribal Lands, a survey of law enforcement agencies that may provide services
on tribal lands in Public Law 83-280 (PL-280) states in 2016. The survey is part of a larger effort called the State and
Local Justice Agencies Serving Tribal Lands (SLJASTL) program.
The survey is the only effort to collect data on the services provided by non-tribal law enforcement agencies on tribal
lands in PL-280 states. Information on agency agreements with tribes, functions performed on tribal lands, staff
working on tribal lands, budget and information sharing among law enforcement agencies will inform decision makers
about the work that state and local law enforcement agencies conduct on tribal land. The terms tribal lands and law
enforcement services are defined as –
Tribal Lands include areas labeled as Indian Country, federal or state recognized reservations, trust lands, Alaska
Native villages including those administered by Alaska Native Corporations, and/or tribal communities.
Law enforcement services include any law enforcement activities involving tribal or non-tribal persons such as
patrolling, making arrests, or investigating crimes on tribal lands.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police/National Sheriffs Association* has partnered with BJS and NORC
on the survey and fully supports this data collection effort.
For your convenience, any knowledgeable person from your agency may respond to the survey in one of several ways:
Electronically: We encourage you to complete the fillable PDF survey and return it via email to
[email protected]. To access the PDF survey, please type the following address
into your internet browser and use the PIN assigned to your agency below to
identify your survey:
URL: XXXXXXXXX
Paper:

PIN: <>

If you prefer to complete a paper version of the survey, complete and return the
enclosed questionnaire in the postage-paid envelope. You can also fax each page tollfree to 1-866-315-7129 or e-mail a scanned copy to [email protected]. Please retain
a photocopy of your completed reply for your records.

We would greatly appreciate if you would complete and return the survey within the next four weeks. Upon completion
of the study, BJS will produce a report from the SSLEASTL and make it available on its website at
http://www.bjs.gov/. Data about your agency collected in the survey will be made publicly available after analysis;
however, BJS will not release the names, phone numbers, or email addresses of the actual persons responsible for
completing the SSLEASTL. If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail NORC at [email protected] or call
NORC toll free, at 1-877-253-2087. We thank you in advance for your participation in this important national study.
Sincerely,
David Herda
Senior Survey Manager, NORC at the University of Chicago
Enclosures
* The partner’s name included in the letter will align with the agency type.

58

THANK YOU REMINDER POSTCARD TEXT

Survey of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies Serving Tribal Lands
(SSLLEASTL)
The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is conducting a survey of state and local law
enforcement agencies serving tribal lands in PL-280 states in 2016 and we respectfully
request a response from your agency!
This data collection effort will provide much needed information on the relationships that
state and local law enforcement agencies have with tribes, the staff and budget for work on
tribal lands and the offenses that occur on tribal lands that are under the jurisdiction of state
and local law enforcement. It is extremely important that your agency respond so we have
complete information.
If you have already completed the Survey of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies
Serving Tribal Lands (SSLLEASTL) survey for the Survey of State and Local Justice
Agencies Serving Tribal Lands program, please accept our sincere thanks. If not, please do so
today. If you did not receive the survey or it was misplaced, please call NORC toll-free at 1877-253-2087 or via e-mail at [email protected]. Again, thank you for your help.
David Herda
Senior Survey Director, NORC at the University of Chicago

59

Telephone Script - Survey of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies Serving Tribal Lands
(SSLLEASTL)
Hello, may I please speak with (RESPONDENT).
IWER: IF R NO LONGER WORKS THERE, ASK FOR PERSON WHO CURRENTLY HOLDS R’s POSITION.
RECORD FIRST AND LAST NAME OF NEW R AND COMMUNICATE THE PURPOSE OF THE CALL.
My name is (NAME) from NORC at the University of Chicago. We are working on behalf of the
Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. We recently sent you the Survey of State and
Local Law Enforcement Agencies Serving Tribal Lands (SSLLEASTL). Do you recall receiving the
survey?
NO, did not receive materials:
BJS is conducting the first study to collect information from non-tribal law enforcement
agencies that work on lands in Public Law 83-280 states, of which is included.
Did your agency provide law enforcement services to tribal lands in 2016?
 YES: Thank you. The current survey asks questions on topics such as agreements to
work on tribal lands, services provided, information sharing, staffing, training and
workload as they relate to your agency’s work on tribal lands. There is a short survey
for your agency to complete. I can send this information to you via mail or e-mail. The
survey can be completed on hardcopy or electronically using a fillable PDF survey. How
would you like to receive the survey?
RESPOND AS APPROPRIATE BASED ON RESPONDENTS ANSWER AND CONFIRM
ADDRESS/E-MAIL
 NO: I would like to ask a few follow up questions to clarify your response. First I
would like to read a few definitions. Please bear with me. The term “tribal lands”
includes areas labeled as Indian Country, federal or state recognized reservations, trust
lands, Alaska Native villages including those administered by Alaska Native Corporations,
and/or tribal communities. Providing law enforcement services includes any law
enforcement activities involving tribal or non-tribal persons such as patrolling, making
arrests, or investigating crimes on tribal lands. Does your agency conduct any of these
or other law enforcement activities on tribal lands?
 YES: Thank you. Did your agency provide these services on tribal lands in
2016?
 YES: Thank you. Your agency is eligible for the study. There is a short
survey for your agency to complete. The current survey asks questions
on topics such as agreements to work on tribal lands, services provided,
information sharing, staffing, training and offenses as they relate to your

60

agency’s work on tribal lands. I can send the survey to you via mail or email. The survey can be completed on hardcopy or electronically via PDF.
How would you like to receive the survey?
RESPOND AS APPROPRIATE BASED ON RESPONDENTS ANSWER
AND CONFIRM ADDRESS/E-MAIL
 NO: Thank you for your time, I will update our records accordingly.
 NO: Thank you for your time, I will update our records accordingly.

YES, did receive
materials:
Great! Do you have any questions about the survey or the purpose of the study?
IF RESPONDENT INDICATES THAT THEY HAVE THE MATERIALS AVAILABLE OR IF THEY HAVE TIME
DURING THE CALL, WALK THROUGH SECTIONS
Your completed survey can be returned to NORC using the pre-addressed, pre-paid envelope,
which was included in the package. You also have the option of the completing the information
on a fillable PDF and submitting it via email. The materials include the web address and a pin to use
when accessing the questionnaire. Any knowledgeable staff person may complete the survey on
behalf of your agency.
If you have any questions as you complete the survey, please call us toll-free at 1-877-2532087. Thank you in advance for your participation!

61

SSLLEASTL - Law Enforcement Telephone Voicemail Script
Respondent’s Direct Telephone Line
Hello! My name is (NAME) from NORC at the University of Chicago. We are conducting a survey on
behalf of the Bureau of Justice Statistics. You should have received a packet in the mail with the
Department of Justice’s Survey of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies Serving Tribal Lands. I am
following up to see if you have any questions about the survey and to ask that the survey be returned
to NORC as soon as possible. If you have any questions about the survey, please call our toll free
number 1-877- 253-2087. Please also contact us if you think that the survey does not apply to your
agency or if we should contact someone else in your agency for survey completion. Again, our toll free
number is 1- 877-253-2087. Thank you!
Administrative Assistant or Secretary’s Telephone Line
Hello! My name is (NAME), calling from NORC at the University of Chicago. We are conducting a survey
on behalf of the Bureau of Justice Statistics. (RESPONDENT’S NAME) should have received a package in
the mail with the Department of Justice’s Survey of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies Serving
Tribal Lands. I am following up to see if (RESPONDENT) has any questions about the survey and to ask
that the survey be returned to NORC as soon as possible. If there are any questions about the survey,
please call our toll free number 1-877- 253-2087. Please also contact us if you think that the survey does
not apply to your agency. Again, our toll free number is 1-877-253-2087. Thank you!

62

U. S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Bureau of Justice Statistics

Washington, D.C. 20531

[Date]

[SUID]

(PNAME)
(PTITLE)
(PADDR)
(PCITY), (PSTATE) (PZIP)
Dear (PNAME),
I am writing to request your participation in the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ (BJS’s) Survey of State and Local Law
Enforcement Agencies Serving Tribal Lands (SSLLEASTL). BJS is collecting data from non-tribal law enforcement
agencies that provided services to tribal lands in states governed by Public Law 83-280 in 2016. The SSLLEASTL is
collecting data about staffing, budgets, training, workload and information sharing.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police/National Sheriffs Association* fully supports the goals of this data
collection and the subsequent compilation of statistics to inform the law enforcement field about non-tribal law
enforcement agency work on tribal lands. A letter of support is included. * The partner’s name included in the letter will
align with the agency type
Please delegate the survey to a knowledgeable person in your agency. You may respond by choosing to:

1. Download and complete the electronic PDF version of the survey located at:
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

E-mail the completed PDF to [email protected] or print and fax to: 1-866-315- 7129. Please be sure to
confirm the agency name and PIN ({PIN}) on the first page of the survey.
OR

2. Complete the enclosed questionnaire and return in the postage-paid envelope. You may wish to retain a
copy of your completed questionnaire for your records.

Please return your completed survey by DATE.
BJS is authorized to conduct this data collection under 42 U.S.C. § 3732(c). BJS, BJS employees, and BJS data collection
agents will use the information you provide only for statistical or research purposes pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 3735 (section
304 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (Pub. L. No. 90-351), as amended), and will protect it to
the fullest extent under federal law. For more information on the federal statutes, regulations, and other authorities that
govern how BJS, BJS employees, and BJS data collection agents collect, handle, store, disseminate, and protect your
information, see the BJS Data Protection Guidelines (https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/BJS_Data_Protection_Guidelines.pdf).
If you have any questions about how to complete or submit the survey, please e-mail NORC, the data collection agent
at [email protected] or call toll free at 1-877-253-2087. If you have comments about the data collection, contact
Suzanne Strong of BJS at [email protected].
Thank you in advance for your time and participation.
Sincerely,
Jeri M. Mulrow, Acting Director

63

Dear NAME:
About two months ago, we sent you an invitation to participate in the U. S. Department of Justice’s
Bureau of Justice Statistics Survey of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies Serving Tribal Lands
(SSLLEASTL). According to our records, as of DATE we have not yet received a completed survey
from your agency. We are contacting you again because #AGENCYNAME#’S data are critical to the
success of the survey.
You may delegate the survey to a knowledgeable staff person.
For your convenience, you may download a copy of the SSLLEASTL survey online at:
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.
Completed hardcopy surveys can be e-mailed to [email protected] or printed and faxed to: 1-866-3157129. Please confirm that your agency’s name and PIN ({PIN}) are on the first page of the survey.
If your agency did not provide law enforcement services on tribal lands in 2016, please call or email us
so that we may update our records. Please reference these definitions when making your
determination:
Tribal Lands: includes areas labeled as Indian Country, federal or state recognized reservations,
trust lands, Alaska Native villages including those administered by Alaska Native Corporations,
and/or tribal communities.
Law enforcement services: includes any law enforcement activities involving tribal or non-tribal
persons such as patrolling, making arrests, or investigating crimes on tribal lands.
If you recently completed and returned the SSLLEASTL questionnaire to us, please accept our sincere
thanks. If not, please do so today. Responding now will eliminate the need for us to continue to
contact you about the SSLLEASTL.
If you need assistance while completing the questionnaire or would like a hardcopy survey, please call 1877-253-2087 or send an e-mail to [email protected].
Thank you in advance,

David Herda
Senior Survey Director, NORC at the University of Chicago

64

U. S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Bureau of Justice Statistics

Washington, D.C. 20531

[Date]

[SUID]

(PNAME) (PTITLE) (PADDR)
(PCITY), (PSTATE) (PZIP)
Dear (PNAME),
I am writing to you because the data collection for the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ (BJS’s) Survey of State
and Local Law Enforcement Agencies Serving Tribal Lands (SSLLEASTL) is coming to a close and
we have not yet received a response from your agency. For your convenience, the questionnaire is enclosed
Please respond by either:
1.

Downloading and completing the electronic PDF version of the survey located at:
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
and
E-mail to [email protected] OR print and fax to: 1-866-315- 7129. We ask you to confirm your
agency’s name and PIN ({PIN}) on the first page of the survey.
OR

2. Completing the enclosed questionnaire and return it in the postage-paid envelope. Please retain a copy
of your completed reply for your records.
We thank you in advance for your time and contribution to this important study. The survey is voluntary. By
completing and returning the survey as soon as possible to make the results comprehensive, accurate and
timely. BJS will report data from the SSLLEASTL and make it available on its website at
http://www.bjs.gov/. BJS is authorized to conduct this data collection under 42 U.S.C. § 3732(c). BJS, BJS
employees, and BJS data collection agents will use the information you provide only for statistical or research
purposes pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 3735 (section 304 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of
1968 (Pub. L. No. 90-351), as amended), and will protect it to the fullest extent under federal law. For more
information on the federal statutes, regulations, and other authorities that govern how BJS, BJS employees,
and BJS data collection agents collect, handle, store, disseminate, and protect your information, see the BJS
Data Protection Guidelines -(https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/BJS_Data_Protection_Guidelines.pdf).
If you have any questions, e-mail Suzanne Strong, BJS project manager, at [email protected] or
call (202) 616-3666.
Sincerely,
Jeri M. Mulrow, Acting Director
Enclosures

65

LAST CHANCE CORRESPONDENCE TEXT
Data collection for the Survey of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies Serving Tribal
Lands (SSLLEASTL) is scheduled to end on XXX!
We have not yet received a response from your agency.
Your response is extremely important. We need empirical data to document the role that state
and local law enforcement agencies have on tribal lands. We currently lack any information
about the role of state and local law enforcement’s work on tribal lands. Without your
agency’s data, we will not be able to describe the relationship that state and local law
enforcement agencies have with tribes or about their work on tribal lands. We have been in
contact with your agency and hope you will participate in the effort. If you did not receive a
questionnaire, or if it was misplaced, please contact NORC (acting as a data collection agent for
the Bureau of Justice Statistics) toll- free at 1-877-253-2087 or by e-mail at [email protected].
We will also be happy to assist you with completing the questionnaire. Thank you for your help
with this important survey!

66

Survey of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies Serving Tribal Lands (SSLLEASTL)
Telephone Retrieval Script
Hello, may I please speak with (RESPONDENT).
My name is (NAME) from NORC at the University of Chicago. You recently completed the Survey of
State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies Serving Tribal Lands (SSLLEASTL). We received your
completed questionnaire and I want to thank you for your participation. I’m calling now to confirm
that we have everything recorded correctly and completely for your agency. It is very important that
we have complete data from all agencies to ensure an accurate representation of the work that state
and local law enforcement agencies have on tribal lands. This should only take a few minutes of your
time.
BEGIN READING QUESTION(s) THAT IS (ARE) MISSING INFORMATION OR HAVE INCONSISTENT
RESPONSES.

67

«DATE»
«AH_SAL» «AH_FN» «AH_LN»«AH_COMMA» «AH_TITLE»
«ATTN» «A_SAL» «A_FN» «A_LN»
«AGENCY_NAME»
«AH_ADD»
«AH_ADD2»
«AH_CITY», «AH_STATE» «AH_ZIP_A»
Dear «AH_SAL» «AH_FN» «AH_LN»,
On behalf of the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) and NORC at the University of Chicago, I would like to
thank you for your participation in the 2016 Survey of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies
Serving Tribal Lands. I truly appreciate your support and <> in completing the questionnaire, as it is vital to the success of this collection.
This letter confirms that we have processed your survey and the data you provided are ready for inclusion
in our analysis file. We anticipate that the report, Survey of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies
Serving Tribal Lands, 2016, will be published in the second quarter of 2018. The report will be available on
our website www.bjs.gov.
If you have questions or updates to the contact information for you or your agency, you may contact the
NORC team at (877) 253-2087 or by email at [email protected]. You may also contact me, Suzanne
Strong, at (202) 616-3666 or [email protected].
Sincerely,

Suzanne M. Strong
Statistician and Project Manager, Survey of State and Local Prosecutor Offices Serving Tribal Lands
Bureau of Justice Statistics

68

U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Bureau of Justice Statistics
Washington, D.C. 20531

Dear <> <>:
The U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), is conducting a pilot test of the
survey instrument for its State and Local Justice Agencies Serving Tribal Lands (SLJASTL) and is asking
your agency to participate. The goal of the SLJASTL is to identify the justice system attributes,
policies, and practices of non-tribal law enforcement on tribal lands. The study will be most
impactful if it is informed by persons, like you, who are directly involved in the provision of law
enforcement services on tribal lands. NORC at the University of Chicago is the data collection
agent for the SLJASTL. The National Sheriffs Association (NSA) and International Association of
Chiefs of Police (IACP) are also assisting us with this important study.
Your participation in the pilot test is voluntary. However, without your input, we will not have a
complete picture of the quality of the instrument and data collection procedures before the main
study is launched. Consistent with its mission, BJS is authorized to collect these data and will use
them solely for research and statistical purposes only as described in Title 42, U.S.C. §3735 and
§3789g. We take confidentiality and human subject protection very seriously. Your cooperation in
providing us this information will greatly assist this study. To participate in the pilot survey, please
fill out the enclosed questionnaire in its entirety and return it to NORC, using the provided
envelope. It should take about thirty minutes to fill out.
Upon receipt of your completed questionnaire, an NORC representative will contact you to arrange
a time to discuss the survey. The debriefing should only take a few minutes of your time and we will
use your feedback to revise the questionnaire and data collection procedures prior to the national
data collection effort. In order to complete the pilot test in a timely manner, we ask that you
complete the survey by April 20, 2015.
We hope that you will be able to help us with this review. If you need assistance with the
questionnaire, please contact NORC toll-free at 1- 877-253-2087 or via e-mail at [email protected].
Also, please feel free to contact Andrew Tiedt, the BJS Project Manager, at 1-202-616-3892 or via email at [email protected] should you have any questions about the pre-test activities.
Sincerely,

William J. Sabol, Ph.D.
Director
Enclosure

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Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies Serving Tribal Lands
Pilot Test
Feedback Script/Questionnaire
Hi,
My name is
and I’m calling on behalf of the Bureau of Justice Statistics regarding
the Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies Serving Tribal Lands pilot. May I
please speak to
?
I’m calling regarding the Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies Serving Tribal
Lands pilot survey you recently completed for us. Thank you so much for completing the
survey. Could we schedule a time to conduct a debriefing of the survey? It shouldn’t take
more than one hour.
If can do right away….make sure they have copy of completed survey in front of them.
Great, so let me walk you through the basic process of how the debriefing will work. We’ll go
through the survey questions, and for each I’ll ask you a couple of questions about the clarity
of the question, the response choices and your overall ease at providing the information. We
will also talk about how long the survey took to complete and review your responses to the
feedback questions on the survey. I have your survey responses in front of me. Do you have
any questions before we start?
For each question, probe for:
Anything that was unclear or confusing in the wording or any terminology that needed to be
better defined.
Any response options that were unclear, confusing, overlapping, or missing.
Any requested information that was not available and could not be reasonably provided. If not
able to provide: What steps would be necessary to get the information?

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S1. – Screener
Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

S2.
Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

S3.
Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

Are the screener questions a comprehensive and accurate way to identify agencies that
provide services on tribal lands? Is the terminology too restrictive or too general?
A1. – Agreements/Contracts/Types of Functions
Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

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A2.
Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

A3.
Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

A4.
Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

A5.
Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

A6.
Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

A7.
Clarity?

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Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

A8. – Information Sharing

Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

A9.
Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

A10.
Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

A11.
Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

A12.
Clarity?

Response
options?

73

Ability to
provide?

A13.

Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

A14.
Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

A15.
Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

A16.
Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

A17.
Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

B1.

74

Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

B2. - Staffing

Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

B3.
Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

B4.
Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

B5.

Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

B6. - Budgets
Clarity?

75

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

B7.

Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

B8.
Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

B9.
Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

B10.
Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

B11.
Clarity?

Response
options?

76

Ability to
provide?

B12. - Training

Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

B13.
Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

B14.
Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

B15.
Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

B16.
Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

B17.

77

Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

B18.

Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

B19.
Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

B20.
Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

B21.

Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

C1. – Number and types of cases; case dispositions
Clarity?

78

Response
options?

Ability to
provide?

If the information is estimates: What level of effort would be needed to provide actual values
in this chart?
C2.
Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

C3.
Clarity?

Response
options?
Ability to
provide?

General Questions:
Was it difficult to complete the survey?

Were additional definitions needed?

79

If the agency works with more than 1 tribe—Was it clear that the questions were asking
about services provided to any tribe and not for all tribes with which you have agreements?

What systems/records did you use to complete the survey?

About how long did it take you to complete the survey?

Were you able to complete the survey all at once or did it require multiple sessions?

Was the level of effort to complete the survey appropriate for the questions the survey
asked?

Were any of these questions not applicable to your agency? Which ones?

In your opinion, would it be better to provide a due date for the survey or should we ask
for it to be returned as soon as possible?

In your opinion, what mode of communication would be most effective in reminding you
to complete the survey: telephone calls, e-mails, faxes or mailings?
Let’s review your responses to the feedback questions on the survey. (FOLLOW UP AS
NEEDED).

80