OST plan could address issues

| Wednesday, September 10, 2008

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The mid-August scuffle at Pine Ridge Indian Reservation that resulted in several police officers resigning has had ripple effects that may lead to a safer, more well-policed community.

In mid-August, several Pine Ridge tribal police officers resigned prompting Bureau of Indian Affairs intervention. That intervention included BIA adding 35 police officers at Pine Ridge.

As a result, last week the Oglala Sioux Tribe presented a 20-week plan to the BIA to handle its own law enforcement. The plan includes an internal affairs review, additional officers and a focus on proactive policing and additional vehicles and equipment.

For the next month, at least, the BIA will stay in place on Pine Ridge.

The BIA intervention at Pine Ridge — clearly an area that needed control and oversight — was the right move but it’s not a long-term solution. The real long-term solution to the problems facing Pine Ridge comes in culture change — more than just who is in charge of the police force.

The OST, it seems, has decided it would prefer to control it’s own police force without BIA oversight. That’s certainly commendable and we hope tribal officials can bring the plan to fruition for the good of the community.

One important part of the OST plan is implementing the practice of community policing.

Community policing is the idea that law enforcement is proactive in the community and establishes ties with those involved in health care, education and courts, among other areas.

That kind of connection with the community can provide the long-term change needed at Pine Ridge.

Pat Ragsdale, director of the BIA, said the addition of officers at Standing Rock in June was a success story and now community policing there could take a foothold.

“We’re not going to arrest ourselves out of the overwhelming poverty and unemployment we have on reservations,” he said last week. “But we should be able to create a measure of tranquility that people can build on.”

That’s the long-term solution to Standing Rock and Pine Ridge, as it is with any community. Without a foundation in which the community feels secure, there’s nothing to build on.

This month, a decision will be made if the BIA will continue to provide the police force on the reservation or if it will be handed back to the Oglala Sioux Tribe.

With the tribe’s plan in place, ready to be implemented, we can only watch to gauge its success and hope for the best for Pine Ridge.