The Ute Mountain Ute tribe in Colorado landed more than $1.6 million in grants to improve public safety on tribal lands.
The Justice Department announced Thursday that the Ute Mountain Utes were one of 133 American Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages nationwide to receive grant money dedicated to law enforcement.
The Utes will collect $898,918 for Public Safety and Community Policing, and $748,013 for Justice Systems and Alcohol and Substance Abuse (BJA).
Colorado District U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer announced the grant award at the annual Four Corners Indian Country Conference.
“Productivity and prosperity can only grow where crime is reduced,” Troyer said in a statement. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Colorado continues to do all it can to give prosperity on our tribal lands a fighting chance.”
That pool of $113 million in grant money included contributions from the offices of Justice Programs, Violence Against Women and Community Oriented Policing Services.
An additional $133 million will later be distributed to help tribes develop and improve services to crime victims.
"There is an unacceptable level of violent crime and domestic abuse in American Indian and Alaska Native communities," said Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Jesse Panuccio in remarks at the Four Corners Indian County Conference. "This increase in resources, together with our aggressive investigation and prosecution of crimes, shows how seriously Attorney General Sessions and the entire Department of Justice take these issues."
