MPR: Tribe and City Combine Efforts on Law Enforcement

Tribe and City Combine Efforts on Law Enforcement
By Cara Hetland
Minnesota Public Radio
May 14, 2001

At a time when tribal police are understaffed and county jails are overcrowded, a tribe in South Dakota is joining forces with city government to start a new police force. The joint force aims to provide better service, while giving tribal and city officials more control.

Ken James is chief of the new joint police force between Flandreau, S.D. and the Flandreau Santee Sioux tribe. James is Native American. The two entities combined resources to create the new five-member police force.
(MPR Photo/Cara Hetland)

FED UP WITH SLOW RESPONSE times, RISING COSTS and inadequate training, the city of Flandreau and the Flandreau Santee Sioux tribe now have a joint police force. For 30 years both contracted with the Moody County sheriff's department for police coverage. Nine deputies covered the mostly rural county in eastern South Dakota. But when it came time for a new contract, the county raised the rates for law enforcement services by nine percent. Mayor Warren Ludeman says it was time to work out a joint powers agreement.

"Cost-wise, the city is about at the level it was costing us with the county. The important thing is that we have input, the direction law enforcement takes. With the county, they ran the show," says Ludeman.

The Flandreau Santee Sioux is the smallest of the nine reservations in South Dakota. Located along the Minnesota border, the reservation lies within the Flandreau city limits. Tribal attorney Jennifer Fyten says the tribe pays 30 percent of the joint police force, while the city picks up the rest. She says the tribe's share is similar to the expenses it paid to the county. But now she says the tribe has better service, and the officers are certified for service on reservation land by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, or BIA.

"We contracted with the county and every year they agreed to become BIA certified, and that never happened. Under the new force all the officers became BIA certified - the training was completed within six weeks," Fyten says.

The president of the Flandreau Santee Sioux tribe, Tom Ranfranz, says during his two-and-a-half years in office, he's worked with the city on several joint agreements.

"The reservation being in the city, we have to work closely with each other and we do," says Ranfranz. "We've worked on water projects together, and we've worked on bringing in high technology computer lines through McCloud Industries, so this was just the next step."

The city and the reservation employ a five-member police force. Two are Native American - one is the chief of police, Ken James. James grew up on a reservation in Nebraska. He served as a Rapid City police officer for many years. James says he doesn't feel race was an issue in his hiring. He says he's aware of racial tensions in the state, and accusations of racial profiling on some reservations. James says that's not going to happen in Flandreau.

"I think everyone has a right to be heard. If there are complaints about profiling or brutality, we need to take a look at the community as a whole. I emphasize to my officers to be courteous, to treat people with dignity and respect," says James.

Some credit the tribe's success to it's casino. Royal River Casino has doubled in size since opening 10 years ago. President Tom Ranfranz says casino money is not going directly to the joint police force, but he says the success of the casino adds to the economic vitality of the city. Casino profits have provided a tribal health clinic and bowling alley. Ranfranz says both the city and tribe see the advantage in working together. Next, he says they'll collaborate on a new elementary school.

Related Information:
Broken Trust: Civil Rights in Indian Country,an MPR special report.

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