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Tribal Probation: An Overview for Tribal Court Judges

NCJ Number
237980
Author(s)
Kimberly A. Cobb; Tracy G. Mullins
Date Published
May 2010
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This guide provides tribal court judges with information about how community supervision can benefit tribal justice systems.
Abstract
This guide provides information to tribal court judges on how to use community supervision services to their fullest potential. This guide provides answers for the following questions: What is community supervision? What are the benefits to tribal justice systems? What are the benefits to the community and victims? What are the benefits to the offender? What is the role of a tribal probation officer? And, what are the ways the tribal court judges can support community supervision? The answers to these questions can help tribal court judges to recognize and have a full understanding of how implementation and utilization of effective community supervision practices can benefit their system and their community. With the assistance and support of tribal court judges, offender supervision in Indian Country can mesh evidence-based practices for community supervision with traditional tribal-specific interventions and practices. Most tribes exercising criminal jurisdiction in Indian Country do not have access to quality jails or juvenile detention facilities. These tribes primarily rely on their probation services to provide supervision services aimed at rehabilitating defendants convicted of criminal behavior while also protecting the community from future harm while perhaps avoiding the most grievous of tribal "punishments" - banishment from the tribe for life or for a specific duration. Incarceration is not necessarily a cultural value among many tribal cultures; therefore, community supervision is a desirable alternative for misdemeanor-level offenders. References