Bureau of Indian Affairs

Within the Department of the Interior (Interior), the Bureau of Indian  Affairs is responsible for supporting tribes in their efforts to ensure public  safety and administer justice within their reservations, as well as to  provide related services directly or to enter into contracts or compacts  with federally recognized tribes to administer the law enforcement  program.major federal crimes, including sexual offenses, committed on, or  involving, Indian country. Most Eligible Tribes Have Retained Their SORNA Implementation Authority and Have Either Substantially Implemented the Act or Are in the Process of Doing So

		Most Eligible Tribes Retained Their Implementation Authority, and Tribes That Lacked the Resources or Did Not Take the Necessary Steps toward Implementation Had Their Authority Delegated

As of August 2014, 164 of the 214 (nearly 77 percent) eligible tribes had  retained their authority to implement SORNA, while the remainder did not  retain their authority because they either elected to delegate their  authority to a state (24 tribes) or the SMART Office delegated their  authority to a state (26 tribes), as shown in figure 1. SMART Office Determined That 43 Percent of Tribes That Retained Their Authority Have Substantially Implemented SORNA, and Nearly 43 Percent More Are in Process

According to the SMART Office, 43 percent (71 of 164) of tribes that  retained their authority to implement SORNA have substantially  implemented the act; nearly 43 percent (70 of 164) have submitted an  implementation package, but the SMART Office has not yet made a  determination; and 13 percent (22 of 164) have not submitted a complete  package. DOJ and BIA, as well as state and local law enforcement  agencies, have taken actions to help address these challenges. Tribes Most Frequently Reported Lack of Access to NCIC, Lack of Notification when Convicted Sex Offenders Are Released, and Insufficient Staff

Tribal officials from 98 of the 129 tribes (76 percent) that retained their  authority to implement SORNA and responded to our survey questions on  challenges to implementing SORNA reported that their tribes experienced   As shown  at least one major or minor challenge to implementing the act.in figure 4, the major challenges tribes most frequently reported included  inability to submit convicted sex offender information to NCIC or NSOR;  lack of notification from state prisons about sex offenders who indicate  that they plan to live, work, or attend school on tribal lands; insufficient  staff; and inability to cover costs to implement SORNA or maintain the  tribe’s registry. DOJ and BIA Have Formed a Working Group to Better Coordinate Federal Efforts to Address Tribes’ Difficulties Submitting Convicted Sex Offender Information to NCIC or NSOR

Under SORNA, as well as DOJ’s National Guidelines for SORNA  Implementation, jurisdictions are to provide convicted sex offender  information for inclusion in NSOR, which is part of NCIC. SMART Office representatives  reported conducting some outreach to states as part of the substantial  review process, but acknowledged that more could be done to encourage  states to provide notification to tribes. Taking steps to ascertain what, if any,  resource or other needs all tribes that have not implemented SORNA may  have could better support the tribes’ efforts to substantially implement the  act, and thereby better ensure monitoring of convicted sex offenders on  tribal lands. Recommendations for Executive Action

To help ensure that tribes that retained their SORNA implementation  authority, as well as ineligible and delegated tribes, are notified when  convicted sex offenders who intend to live, work, or attend school on tribal  land initially register or update a registration, we recommend that the  Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs direct the  SMART Office to take the following two actions:
Amend its substantial implementation assurance guidance to require  its evaluators to determine whether substantially implemented states  are notifying tribes that retained their authority to implement SORNA,  as well as ineligible and delegated tribes, as required, and use this  information in the office’s ongoing outreach to the states. For tribes that would like  assistance from BIA, where possible, BIA should provide this assistance  or refer the tribe to other resources. What implementation challenges, if any, have tribes that retained their  authority to implement SORNA reported, and what steps have federal  agencies and others taken or could take to address these challenges? Appendix III: Extent to Which Eligible Tribes Have Implemented the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA)

Appendix III: Extent to Which Eligible Tribes  Have Implemented the Sex Offender  Registration and Notification Act (SORNA)
According to the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring,  Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART Office), the 214 tribes  that are eligible to implement SORNA are located in 33 states; of these  states, 11 have substantially implemented SORNA.
Why GAO Did This Study

According to DOJ, tribal nations are disproportionately affected by violent crimes and sex offenses in particular. In 2006, Congress passed SORNA, which introduced new sex offender registration and notification standards for states, territories, and eligible tribes. The act made special provisions for eligible tribes to elect either to act as registration jurisdictions or to delegate SORNA functions to the states in which they are located. GAO was asked to assess the status of tribes' efforts to implement SORNA and the challenges they face doing so.
This report addresses, among other things, (1) the extent to which eligible tribes have retained their authority to implement, and for those that did, describe their implementation status and (2) implementation challenges tribes that retained their authority reported, and steps federal agencies have taken or could take to address these challenges. GAO reviewed data on eligible tribes' implementation status; conducted a survey of tribes that retained their authority; and interviewed federal, state, and local officials.

What GAO Found

Most eligible tribes have retained their Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) implementation authority and have either substantially implemented the act or are in the process of doing so. As of August 2014, 77 percent (164 of the 214) of eligible tribes had retained their implementation authority. Tribes that lacked the resources, among other factors, to implement SORNA either delegated their own authority, or the SMART Office delegated the tribe's authority, to a state. According to the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART Office)—the office SORNA established within the Department of Justice (DOJ) to administer and assist jurisdictions with implementing the law—43 percent (71 of 164) of tribes that retained their authority to implement SORNA have substantially implemented the act; the SMART Office has not yet made a final determination on 43 percent (70 of 164); and 13 percent (22 of 164) have not submitted complete packages. The SMART Office determined that 1 tribe has not yet substantially implemented SORNA.
In GAO's survey of tribes that retained their authority, the four most frequently reported implementation challenges included inability to submit convicted sex offender information to federal databases, lack of notification from state prisons upon the release of sex offenders, lack of staff, and inability to cover the costs of SORNA implementation. Federal agencies have taken steps to address these challenges, but more could be done. For example, DOJ and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) within the Department of the Interior (Interior) have formed a working group to better coordinate federal efforts to address tribes' difficulties submitting convicted sex offender information to federal databases. However, some states have not notified tribes—those that retained their SORNA authority, as well as ineligible and delegated tribes—when sex offenders who will be or have been released from state prison register with the state and indicate that they intend to live, work or attend school on tribal land, as SORNA requires; and while the SMART Office has taken some actions, more could be done to encourage states to provide notification to tribes. Such notification would help tribes identify and monitor sex offenders who live on their lands and enforce tribal laws pertaining to sex offenders. The SMART Office, U.S. Marshals Service, and BIA provided financial assistance, equipment, and staff to help tribes address their resource needs. However, BIA offered assistance only to tribes for which BIA provides direct law enforcement services, which account for only 20 percent of the tribes that retained their SORNA implementation authority, even though BIA is responsible for assisting and advising all federally recognized tribes regarding their law enforcement and public safety needs. Taking steps to ascertain what, if any, resource or other needs all tribes that retained their authority may have could better position BIA to support the tribes' efforts to implement the act.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that, among other things, the SMART Office encourage states to notify tribes about offenders who plan to live, work, or attend school on tribal land upon release from prison. GAO also recommends that BIA reach out to all tribes that retained their authority to determine what, if any, assistance they would like from BIA. DOJ and Interior concurred.