Tribal Access Program applications will open for federally recognized tribes

Sav Kelly, Grand Forks Herald
·2 min read

Jul. 11—GRAND FORKS — The application period has begun for federally recognized tribes and inter-tribal consortia to participate in the Tribal Access Program for National Crime Information.

According to a press release from the United States Attorney's Office District of North Dakota, public safety is improved by allowing federally recognized tribes to access and exchange data with national crime information databases for authorized purposes.

Tribal communities have faced barriers to criminal justice information for years, Attorney General Merrick Garland said.

"The Tribal Access Program has strengthened Tribal criminal justice agencies," said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. "By using TAP, participating (t)ribes have shared information about missing persons, apprehended fugitives, registered sex offenders, enforced protection orders, and have made hundreds of entries into the FBI's (National Instant Criminal Background Check System) ... database to prevent prohibited persons from illegally obtaining access to firearms."

In addition to training, the program provides a web-based application and workstations to process fingerprints, take mugshots and submit information to the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services systems, the release said.

There are 123 tribes currently participating in TAP, according to the release. Applications will be accepted from July 3 to Sept. 1, and tribes selected will be notified before the end of the month.

TAP staff will be conducting informational webinars throughout July and August for tribes that are considering applying. More information is available at www.justice.gov/tribal/tribal-access-program-tap.

TAP has given the Poarch Creek Tribal Police Department cost-effective access to crime databases, according to the agency's chief, Chris Rutherford.

"The value of this program to our reservation far exceeds the minimal effort required to be a participating partner in the TAP program," he said.

TAP services are offered through one of two methods: TAP-LIGHT or TAP-FULL. TAP-LIGHT provides an application with access to three national crime databases. TAP-FULL provides database access as well as a kiosk workstation that allows people to submit and query fingerprints via the FBI's Next Generation Identification system.

This can be used for both criminal justice and non-criminal justice purposes, the release said.

Eligible tribes must agree to use TAP for at least one of the following: a tribal sex offender registry that's authorized by the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, a tribal law enforcement agency with arrest powers, a tribal court that issues protection orders or a tribal government agency that screens individuals for foster care placement or investigations child abuse and neglect allegations.

TAP is funded by the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking; the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services; the Office for Victims of Crime; and the Office on Violence Against Women. The program is co-managed by the Office of Tribal Justice and the Department of Justice's Office of the Chief Information Officer and Office of Tribal Justice, the release said.