Justice Department Expands Tribal Access Program to Improve the Exchange of Critical Data with Federally Recognized Tribes

WASHINGTON - The Justice Department has selected six federally recognized Tribes to participate in the continued expansion of the Tribal Access Program for National Crime Information (TAP), a program that provides Tribal governments with means to access, enter, and exchange data with national crime information systems, including those maintained by the FBI Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division.

The announcement follows trips by senior Justice Department officials to Tribal Nations this year to hear from Tribal and federal law enforcement officials and Tribal leaders about the public safety challenges faced by Tribal communities.

"Criminals should have no doubt: Indian Country will not be a refuge for lawlessness," said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. "The Tribal Access Program gives Tribal law enforcement real-time access to crime data, arming them with the information necessary to identify criminals, track down predators, and deliver justice for victims. The Department stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Tribal officers to restore law and order to Indian Country, and those who target the vulnerable in Tribal communities will be found, prosecuted, and held accountable."

With this expansion, TAP now supports 154 Tribes and more than 460 Tribal government agencies.

"The Department of Justice is committed to enhancing public safety for the Tribal communities in Colorado," said United States Attorney for the District of Colorado Peter McNeilly. "The Tribal Access Program is a resource the Southern Ute Tribe can leverage to serve and protect their nation's citizens even more effectively."

TAP provides training as well as software and biometric/biographic kiosk workstations to process fingerprints, take mugshots, and submit information to FBI CJIS systems.

The Justice Department began TAP in 2015 in response to concerns raised by Tribal leaders about the need to have direct access to federal systems. Using TAP, Tribes have shared information about missing persons; registered convicted sex offenders; entered domestic violence orders of protection for nationwide enforcement; entered orders that prevent dangerous prohibited persons from obtaining firearms; run criminal histories; identified and arrested fugitives; entered bookings and convictions; and completed fingerprint-based record checks for non-criminal justice purposes such as screening employees or volunteers who work with children.

The following additional Tribes have been selected for participation in TAP:

1. Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas
2. Cayuga Nation (New York)
3. Duckwater Shoshone Tribe
4. Pueblo of Zia
5. Seneca-Cayuga Nation (Oklahoma)
6. Southern Ute Indian Tribe

TAP is managed by the Justice Department's Office of the Chief Information Officer and the Office of Tribal Justice. It is funded by the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART), the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), and the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW).

For more information on TAP, visit https://www.justice.gov/tribal/tribal-access-program-tap.