There's a violent crime problem on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation that Operation Dakota Peacekeeper is designed to address.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs project will supplement local and tribal police forces on Standing Rock with an increased law enforcement presence. Other BIA law enforcement agents from around the United States will be used to stabilize the public safety situation on the reservation.

The incidence of violent crime on that reservation is six times the national average, according to Sen. John Thune's office. A rash of drug- and gang-related crime in places like McLaughlin has community members fearing for their safety today and for the future of their children tomorrow. Last year, 400 juvenile crimes on the reservation were not prosecuted because of the lack of law enforcement personnel.

Operation Dakota Peacekeeper is part of the Interior Department's Safe Indian Communities program. The agency received $23.7 million for the nationwide program in 2008 and is requesting another $26.6 million for next year. In addition to putting more police on the highways and in the towns on the 2.3 million-acre reservation, Operation Dakota Peacekeeper improves community policing practices to give tribal members a stake in their own safety and it will make victims assistance services more available.

We're thrilled to see the BIA taking the lead to address the immediate problems of lawlessness on Standing Rock. For too long now, there's been a lack of resources that resulted in a lack of response by police departments and by tribal and federal courts to the needs of crime victims there.

But as many citizens of Standing Rock point out, the problem of crime in their communities is not one that can be solved simply by throwing more money and more resources - in the form of more police or more prosecutors - at the problem.

Yes, it is an economic problem that the federal government has the financial responsibility to address. But more importantly, it is a community problem which, ultimately, will only be solved by the people of Standing Rock. They are the only ones with the ability to confront the social, spiritual and cultural aspects of crime in their communities.