Tonkawa Tribe's Tribal Justice Center

The Department of Justice developed a comprehensive and coordinated approach for tribal governments to apply for funding to reduce and prevent crime and victimization. Through this process, the Department's existing tribal government-specific programs are included in, and available through a single Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS). Through this solicitation, only one application was accepted from each federally recognized tribe to encourage comprehensive assessments of need and planning. Each tribe could apply for funding under nine purpose areas, which included funding from the Office of Community Oriented Policing, Office of Justice Programs (including the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office for Victims of Crime, and Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention), and Office on Violence Against Women. The tribe had the flexibility to select the purpose areas whose funding addressed the needs of the tribe as outlined in its tribal and community profile. There were nine purpose areas in total, and purpose area 4 was dedicated to the Tribal Justice Systems Infrastructure Program (TJSIP).

Funding through the Tribal Justice System Infrastructure Program will support efforts to renovate or expand buildings to enhance conditions or to change the use of a building to any of the following purposes: single jurisdiction or regional tribal correctional facilities, correctional alternative facilities, multi-purpose justice centers (including police departments, courts, and corrections), and transitional living facilities (halfway houses) associated with the incarceration and rehabilitation of juvenile or adult offenders. Funds may also be used to develop and implement correctional alternatives.

The Tonkawa Tribe will use their funds to renovate an existing building to create a Justice Center that will house both the Police Department and the Tribal Court. The proposed building to house the Justice Center is located on Tribal trust land in the center of the jurisdiction which will allow short response times for law enforcement. There will be better security (less glass, a sound structure, room to actually use the metal detector, and a holding cell, a sallie port to be used when transporting prisoners), more privacy (interview rooms for both the Police and the Attorneys to use), appropriate storage of guns, evidence, and records (separate records areas for the Police and the court, a gun vault, and evidence and processing room that meets BIA standards) and ADA access to the building and within the building.
CA/NCF