LOWER BRULE, S.D. – There are too many miles, too few officers, too many calls and not enough money to properly protect thousands of people in the Great Plains.

With more funding, cooperation, flexibility with staffing and training, and proper consultation, law enforcement may improve in Indian country – points underscored during a House Resources field hearing hosted by Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin June 1.

Shanon County, on the Pine Ridge reservation, is the largest county in the United States, at double the size of Rhode Island; it is also one of the poorest, said James Twiss, police chief for Pine Ridge.

The Oglala Sioux tribal law enforcement receives 180,000 calls a year with 27,000 arrests, and now is about to lose one-third of the police force.

Twiss said they will need 28 more police officers and an additional $1.3 million to maintain the force of 69 officers. An officer can travel 350 miles in one eight-hour shift, and it can take about an hour to respond to a call, Twiss added.

The loss in officers will occur when a Community Oriented Policing Services grant from the Department of Justice ends. The Oglala Sioux Tribe was encouraged by the BIA to apply for the grants as a temporary fix for the lack of officers because BIA funding was not adequate.

”We have two jails that are dilapidated – furnaces go out in the winter – and there is some sewage backup. We exceed maximum occupancy. There is airborne asbestos and some holding cells collect water,” Twiss continued.

”We need both jails replaced – now,” he said.

Methamphetamine use on the Rosebud Reservation is on the rise and there have been 51 indictments since September 2005, said Rosebud Sioux Tribe President Rodney Bordeaux.

”Gang violence is on the rise and crime has increased by 18 to 23 percent,” he said.

On Rosebud, there is fewer than one officer for 1,000 residents; in the United States, the ratio is 3.9 officers to 1,000 people, according to Bordeaux.

”We have 19 officers to cover 900,000 acres, a jail with water leaks and no space for rehabilitation or classrooms. We need 60 additional officers,” Bordeaux said.

A new juvenile detention center lacks a licensed psychologist and the IHS can’t help because it, too, is underfunded, Bordeaux said: ”IHS is losing two psychologists.”

”The FBI gets additional funds to investigate more crime than they can investigate. Ask for some of those funds,” Bordeaux said.

The bordering towns next to the reservations are benefiting because inmates from the reservations are housed at a cost in those jails. To relieve the distress on Rosebud because of the lack of law enforcement would take a 400 percent increase in funding, Bordeaux said.

Law enforcement officials and tribal leaders testified during a June 1 House Resources Committee field hearing. The testimony painted a bleak picture that inadequate funds for law enforcement have caused on the reservations of the Great Plains.

Perpetrators wait months for a court appearance because of clogged tribal courts. Oftentimes they go free – and drug dealers and criminals know it.

”We can solve our own problems, but we need help. We can meet the challenges,” Bordeaux said.

On the Cheyenne River Reservation, there are three officers per shift to cover a land base the size of Connecticut. More than 11,000 arrests were made on Cheyenne River last year.

Joseph Brings Plenty, tribal chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, said one officer was assaulted and stabbed seven times when he walked into a house filled with meth users. He did not have body armor that had been requested.

”Funds were not distributed. They were based on need,” Brings Plenty said.

On Cheyenne River, the lack of judges means that the gap from arrest to justice is six months. One judge takes care of 3,000 cases.

”We need to double our budget. Seven of the 11 poorest counties are in South Dakota and these are our homes. The officers come from our homes,” Brings Plenty said.

On the Lake Traverse Reservation, home to the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate, there are eight officers and five dispatchers to serve a population of 10,000 people. The detention facility was built in the 1970s and is in need of replacement.

Juveniles have to be transferred to Fargo, N.D., at a cost of $22 per day with no funding help from the BIA, said Gary Gaikowski, chief of police for the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate.

”All officers are on call 24/7. Our goal is to get tough on DUIs and keep alcohol out, but the crime rate continues to climb. Our funding needs are not met and more violent crime is committed by youth,” Gaikowski said.