BJS FY 15 Annual Survey of Jails in Indian Country, 2016-2019

The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) Annual Survey of Jails in Indian Country (SJIC) includes all known Indian country correctional facilities operated by tribal authorities or the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), U.S. Department of the Interior. The survey describes all adult and juvenile jail facilities and detention centers in Indian country. Indian country includes reservations, pueblos, rancherias, and other appropriate areas (18 U.S.C. § 1151). Indian country is a statutory term that includes all lands within an Indian reservation, dependent Indian communities, and Indian trust allotments (18 U.S.C. § 1151). Courts interpret Section 1151 to include all lands held in trust for tribes or their members. (See United States v. Roberts, 185 F.3d 1125 (10th Cir. 1999). Tribal authority to imprison American Indian offenders had been limited to 1 year per offense by statute (25 U.S.C. §1302), a $5,000 fine, or both. On July 29, 2010, the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010 (TLOA) was signed into law, expanding tribal court sentencing authority. The SJIC collects detailed information on confinement facilities, detention centers, jails, and other facilities operated by tribal authorities or the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Information is gathered on inmate counts, movements,facility operations, and staff. In selected years, additional information is collected on facility programs and services, such as medical assessments and mental health screening procedures, inmate work assignments, counseling, and educational programs.