Tunica-Biloxi Tribal Police Rural Crime Project

Applicant: Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana

Location and Eligibility: The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe is a federally recognized tribe located in Marksville, LA.

Funding Request: $150,000

Project Goal: Increase tribal police capacity through additional policing hours and modern forensic gathering software to address assault including aggravated assault, sexual assault, and domestic violence.

The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana is requesting funding under this grant will be used to increase the police patrol capacity though the addition of over-time hours of tribal police officers to respond to reported cases of assault faster as well as increased community involvement to prevent future assaults including sexual assault and domestic violence. Additional patrol and administrative hours will increase access to up-to-date information on criminal activity, search criminal databases, and conduct field background searches on potential suspects. Many of the current Tribal Police Department cases involving assault are not being processed due to lack of human resources. In addition, funding from this program will allow the tribal police department to procure forensic hardware and software to collect evidence for assault cases. From updated hardware and software to additional policing hours, the funding under this program will give Tunica-Biloxi Police Department the advantage they need in providing law enforcement while fighting assault on tribal lands.

With a crime rate of 85 per one thousand residents, Marksville has one of the highest crime rates in America compared to all communities of all sizes - from the smallest towns to the very largest cities. In particular, Marksville has a violent crime rate
of 22.29 per 1,000 residents and 26% of all crime in Markville is violent crime (URC Data). An analysis of violent crime in Marksville revealed that 96% of violent crime is assault including sexual assault and domestic violence. The Native American population in Louisiana incidence of assault far exceeds that of the national average as well as the national averages versus other racial groups.