Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-South Dakota) urged leaders of the Oglala Sioux Tribe to prepare a law enforcement plan in order to prevent the Bureau of Indian Affairs from taking over police services on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

The BIA sent 35 temporary officers to the reservation after half of the tribe's police forced walked off the job. Herseth Sandlin said community response has been mixed but she urged the tribe to be proactive in order to meet the BIA's deadline.

"I'm hopeful they understand the timetable to do that is short," Herseth Sandlin told The Rapid City Journal.

The BIA has taken over law enforcement on other reservations. Members of the Blackfeet Nation of Montana say the BIA's presence hasn't reduced crime rates.

Get the Story:
Herseth Sandlin: Mixed response to BIA presence (The Rapid City Journal 9/4)

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