Arizona's Report on Missing, Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls Has Over 50 Recommendations

Arizona's Study Committee on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls has posted its final report, including dozens of specific legislative, law enforcement and other policy recommendations to address the ongoing crisis. After nearly a year of in-depth research, which was slowed by COVID-19 and some enforcement agencies choosing not to participate, Arizona got its clearest picture to date of the increasing crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

"Our work will not end with this report; this is only the beginning," said Chairwoman Rep. Jennifer Jermaine, D-Chandler. "The findings and data in this report will drive administrative and legislative action needed to help prevent future abductions and murders of Indigenous women and girls in Arizona. We dedicate this work and this report to the lives lost and to the Tribes that have inhabited this land since time immemorial. It is our hope and expectation that this work will save lives." 

The full report can be found here.

The research includes an extensive field study by the firm LeCroy & Milligan Associates, Inc. and Honwungsi Consulting Services, LLC whose hardworking employees interviewed law enforcement representatives, survivors and family members of those who went missing. The Office of Attorney General Mark Brnovich partnered with the Committee and funded the field study.

“We must all work together to address the nationwide epidemic of murdered and missing Indigenous women and the establishment of this study committee has been a strong step in that direction,” said Attorney General Mark Brnovich. “Victims, their families, and communities deserve justice and we’ve now provided recommendations for our tribal, state, and federal governments to take action.”

The research showed that confusion over jurisdiction, lack of resources for victims' advocates and failure to provide culturally competent training create cracks that Indigenous women and girls fall through. The report uncovered a correlation between substance abuse, domestic violence and sex trafficking, which are often contributing factors to disappearances and murders.

As a mother of a survivor shared, "I hope this study is able to do something because every day a child or loved one is missing. They need to think, what if it was my daughter, or sister, or mother? Maybe this will change their perspective."

The report also includes research into inequities in the state's crime victim compensation program. Arizona State University's School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Research on Violent Victimization Lab collaborated with the study committee and contributed its report entitled Reducing Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Employing numerous Indigenous faculty members and student researchers, the Arizona State University report identified systemic and jurisdictional barriers among law enforcement and national crime-tracking databases that slow progress on addressing the crisis.

"We firmly believe that the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls is solvable," said Arizona State University's Kate Fox, who was the lead researcher for the report, which she presented to the study committee. 

Here is a glimpse at some of the recommendations. The full list can be found in the report. 

Legislative Recommendations

1. Introduce legislation (A.R.S. § 41-2404) to require that at least one member of the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission (ACJC) be a representative from an Arizona land-based Indian Tribe.
2. Establish an Arizona Missing Persons Assistance Fund.
3. Partner with Congressional delegation to reauthorize and amend the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) to fully restore Tribal inherent criminal and civil jurisdiction, through a full “Oliphant-Fix.”
4. Propose the expansion of legislative language pertaining to the safety and protection of all people to be inclusive of people of color, the LGBTQ and Two-Spirit community, and Indigenous Peoples.
5. Mandate law enforcement agencies report missing and unidentified persons and conduct National Missing & Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) entry within a designated time period.

Law Enforcement Recommendations

1. Develop approaches to close law enforcement gaps, delineate jurisdictional responsibility, and enforce accountability while respecting sovereignty, through inter-jurisdictional communication, intergovernmental agreements, and increased coordination.
2. Develop and implement a statewide missing persons policy for both children and adults that outlines step-by-step procedures.
3. Facilitate cross-deputization (permission to cross-borders) for Tribal law enforcement departments and officers to share information pertaining to investigations and case reviews.
4. Encourage memorandums of understanding (MOUs) between Tribal and non-Tribal law enforcement agencies.
5. Establish a law enforcement task force for missing persons that includes Tribal law enforcement agencies with an emphasis on victims' rights and victim advocacy as part of the process.

Data Improvement Recommendations

1. Conduct a comprehensive follow-up study to determine the scope of the MMIWG crisis by examining each of the factors that contribute to incidents of MMIWG, and to determine the scope and impact of MMIWG in Arizona.
2. Establish methods and protocols for tracking, gathering, and collecting data on violence against Indigenous Peoples, including data on MMIWG, by Tribal affiliation.
3. Request that the federal government fully fund the Department of Justice (DOJ) Tribal Access Program (TAP) to provide access to federal crime databases, in order to enhance the safety of Indian Country, enable information sharing, and eliminate safe havens for criminals, pursuant to the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010 (TLOA), 25 U.S.C. §2810 (2010).
4. Establish MOUs to enable Tribal law enforcement agencies without TAP capabilities to gain access to the Arizona Department of Public Safety criminal database.
5. Include data points in NamUs to publicly document historical missing persons, including solved cases. The data should also include information on the outcome of resolved missing persons cases.

Resource Allocation Recommendations

1. Centralize and specify permanent funding and technical assistance available to Arizona land-based Tribes.
2. Strategically improve outreach and dissemination of available and up-to-date resources to Arizona Tribal communities.
3. Collaborate with Tribal communities, organizations, and border towns to create and develop Sexual Assault Response Teams (SART), with a special emphasis on Tribal cultural competency.
4. Create and disseminate information kits for survivors and families of MMIWG with resources, service directories, and orientation to the legal system. **(Reference back to VCF program)
5. Call for the increase of federal funding for Arizona Tribal justice systems through the Tribal Justice Support Act, (Title 25 U.S.C. 3602 et seq.) and the Office of Tribal Justice Support, within the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Training and Education Recommendations

1. Designate annual training for all social services and law enforcement professionals to include 60 hours of annual training that prioritizes training for cultural responsiveness.
2. Offer and fund additional training to schools and teachers on recognizing the warning signs of children who are victimized, as well as the appropriate reporting mechanisms.
3. Offer human trafficking training resources to Arizona land-based Tribal law enforcement agencies, casinos, and hotels.
4. Engage the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in collaboration with Arizona land-based Tribes and the federal government, to ensure services regarding domestic violence, substance use, and mental health are meeting the needs of Tribal communities.
5. Require all Arizona State departments to enforce their Tribal consultation policies regarding any work, activities, policies, etc., that can have impact on Arizona land-based Tribes.

Collaborative Recommendations

1. Create an inter-agency case review team that meets regularly with Arizona land-based Tribes. The inter-agency case review team may include Tribal, local, county, state, and federal agencies that handle MMIWG cases, including law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, Tribal and non-Tribal courts, child protective services, direct service providers, medical examiners, Tribal coalitions, tasks forces, and families affected by MMIWG.
2. Designate a Tribal liaison or advocate within each individual Arizona land-based Tribe.
3. Collaborate with Indigenous researchers to carry out studies with Tribal input and support and ensure that non-Indigenous research partners have Indigenous staff or extensive experience working with Indigenous communities and include extensive networks of Indigenous collaborators.
4. Promote meaningful collaborations between academics, front-line practitioners, families of MMIWG, survivors of violence, and grassroots organizations to inform policy and service delivery.
5. Develop multi-jurisdictional Endangered Missing Advisory Systems and Plans, that enables collaboration among agencies to broadcast and search for missing persons that do not fit AMBER Alert criteria. 

Victim Service Recommendations

1. Provide funding opportunities and increase current funding opportunities for Tribes and Tribal non-profit agencies or those led by Indigenous People that serve Indigenous victims.
2. Offer survivors and family members of MMIWG wrap-around services from a network of agencies and centralize the provisions of services where appropriate.
3. Increase access and funding to shelters and safe houses for survivors fleeing violence in urban areas and in Tribal communities with a prioritization of shelters on Tribal lands.
4. Increase access to Indigenous legal advocates to help survivors and families navigate the legal system and to accompany survivors to court proceedings.
5. Provide a centralized reporting site for missing and murdered persons that honors the unique nature of all of the 22 Arizona land-based Tribes and urban Indian population that provides an accurate account of MMIWG in Arizona.

Photo credit: Arizona Legislature Indigenous Peoples Caucus