Pueblo of Isleta Prosecutors Office Crime Reduction Program

The Pueblo of Isleta community is in central New Mexico, 15 miles south of Albuquerque. It spans two highly populated counties, Bernalillo and Valencia, with the Rio Grande River flowing through its heart. The territory covers more than 329 square miles and is surrounded by the Manzano Mountains to the east and the desert mesa lands of the Rio Puerco to the west. The community has around 5,003 enrolled members; the spoken language is TIWA.

Several factors have led to increased crime on the Isleta Pueblo, including crimes associated with casino activities, such as stolen vehicles, fights, and shootings that have occurred at or near the casino premises. At the same time, the Pueblo of Isleta Police Department is fully staffed, leading to an increase in the number of arrests. U.S. Attorney and District Attorney's offices handle all homicide and non-fatal shootings. Currently, domestic violence cases are being dismissed at the state level due to understaffing. Cases are also being reduced to misdemeanors, which does not help to prevent habitual offenders. The Pueblo seeks to address some of these issues to reduce the likelihood of an increase in more severe crimes. They are working to remove or block non-tribal cases from being assigned to Tribal Court. The Tribal Council reviews the law-and-order code and criminal provisions to close any loopholes. A plan is in development to remove non-tribal members who have committed crimes from the community from the governor's office. The Pueblo of Isleta will hire an assistant prosecutor to help manage the overflow of cases.

The Pueblo of Isleta is applying under Priority 1A. According to studies, more than 23% of Native Americans have experienced discrimination in healthcare situations, 38% have experienced violence, and 34% have been threatened or harassed. Native Americans are also at a higher risk of experiencing discrimination when dealing with the police and court systems. The Pueblo of Isleta offers many programs to assist community members impacted by crime or at risk of criminal involvement.

The Pueblo of Isleta will determine project success by achieving specific goals, including improving non-priority call-for-service response time by 10%, improving priority emergency call-for-service response time by 10%, reducing fleet inoperability time to less than 10%, decreasing drug and alcohol-related calls for service by 5% per year during the grant period, and achieving 80% community satisfaction reported in feedback.