Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed eCollection eComments Requested; New Collection: State and Local Justice Agencies Serving Tribal Lands (SLJASTL): Survey of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies in PL 280 States Serving Tribal Lands (SSLLEASTL), 47767-47768 [2017-22166]

Agencies

• Department of Justice

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 197 (Friday, October 13, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47767-47768]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-22166]



[[Page 47767]]

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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

[OMB Number 1121-NEW]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed eCollection 
eComments Requested; New Collection: State and Local Justice Agencies 
Serving Tribal Lands (SLJASTL): Survey of State and Local Law 
Enforcement Agencies in PL 280 States Serving Tribal Lands (SSLLEASTL)

AGENCY: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Department of Justice.

ACTION: 60-Day notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs, 
Bureau of Justice Statistics, will be submitting the following 
information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Comments are encouraged and will be accepted for 60 days until 
December 12, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have additional comments 
especially on the estimated public burden or associated response time, 
suggestions, or need a copy of the proposed information collection 
instrument with instructions or additional information, please contact 
Suzanne Strong, Statistician, Prosecution and Judicial Statistics, 
Bureau of Justice Statistics, 810 Seventh Street NW., Washington, DC 
20531 (email: Suzanne.M.Strong@usdoj.gov; telephone: 202-616-3666).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Written comments and suggestions from the 
public and affected agencies concerning the proposed collection of 
information are encouraged. Your comments should address one or more of 
the following four points:

--Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary 
for the proper performance of the functions of the Bureau of Justice 
Statistics, including whether the information will have practical 
utility;
--Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
--Evaluate whether and if so how the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected can be enhanced; and
--Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are 
to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submission of responses.

Overview of This Information Collection

     (1) Type of Information Collection: New collection.
     (2) The Title of the Form/Collection: State and Local Justice 
Agencies Serving PL-280 Tribal Lands (SLJASTL): Survey of State and 
Local Law Enforcement Agencies Serving PL-280 Tribal Lands (SSLLEASTL).
     (3) The agency form number, if any, and the applicable component 
of the Department sponsoring the collection: No agency form number at 
this time. The applicable component within the Department of Justice is 
the Bureau of Justice Statistics, in the Office of Justice Programs.
     (4) Affected public who will be asked or required to respond, as 
well as a brief abstract: Respondents will be general purpose state and 
local law enforcement agencies (LEAs) that are responsible for policing 
tribal lands in the sixteen Public Law 280 (PL-280) states, including 
state police departments, sheriff's offices, and general purpose local 
law enforcement agencies. The respondent universe will be finalized 
after an initial telephone contact to determine which agencies are most 
likely to provide services to tribal lands. Abstract: Among other 
responsibilities, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is charged 
with collecting data regarding crimes occurring on tribal lands. The 
SLJASTL is the first effort by BJS to collect data from state and local 
justice agencies responsible for policing and prosecuting crimes that 
occur on tribal lands in PL-280 states. State and local law enforcement 
agencies have jurisdiction over specific crimes and offenders when 
crimes occur on tribal lands.
    There are no existing data collections that describe state and 
local law enforcement agencies' roles on tribal lands.
    This collection involves at least a two-stage process. In the first 
phase, BJS will conduct a pilot test to determine if it is possible to 
sample agencies located in counties with tribal lands within their 
jurisdictions. BJS will telephone agencies in sampled counties to 
inquire about the agency's provision of services and whether the agency 
is aware of other police agencies that provide services to tribal 
lands. There are 267 counties that include tribal lands as part of 
their jurisdiction. BJS will sample 26 counties and select one agency 
within the county to ask about the delivery of services to tribal 
lands. There are 515 counties with no tribal lands in their 
jurisdiction. BJS will first sort the counties based on a measure of 
distance from tribal lands from closest to farthest. BJS will sample 37 
agencies from the closest set of counties and 37 agencies from the 
farther set of counties. BJS will ask the selected agencies within 
those counties about their delivery of services to tribal lands.
    BJS also needs to determine whether county agencies in Alaska 
provide services to Alaskan Native Villages, or if only the state 
police and village public safety officers (VPSO) provide services. 
There are 19 boroughs in Alaska, and at least 7 boroughs will be 
sampled in the first phase and the police agency for the borough will 
be asked about the provision of services to Alaska Native Villages. BJS 
will telephone approximately 107 agencies to determine if agencies in 
PL-280 states provide services, or if there is some specialization, 
particularly among city and county agencies, or agencies located closer 
to tribal lands. BJS will also cognitively test the revised survey with 
10 agencies, including at least one state police agency, one Alaska 
VPSO agency, four county agencies, and four city agencies.
    In the second phase, BJS will refine the sampling frame and will 
conduct the main survey effort. The SSLLEASTL survey is designed to 
collect information that will help fill the gaps in our understanding 
of the nature of crime on tribal lands. There are two survey 
instruments: One for Alaska and one for the remaining fifteen PL-280 
states. The data collection instruments capture administrative, 
operational and caseload data from respondents. Information requested 
includes staffing of state and local law enforcement agencies; types of 
agreements state and local law enforcement agencies have with tribal 
governments; types of patrol services, traffic services, and detention 
services provided to tribal lands; information sharing between state 
and local law enforcement and tribal governments; training provided by 
state and local law enforcement to tribal law enforcement (including 
cross-deputization agreements); training received by state and local 
law enforcement agencies on tribal jurisdiction, tribal law and tribal 
culture; and the number and types of incidents policed by state and 
local law enforcement agencies. This survey is the first to describe 
the role that state and local law enforcement play in policing crime on 
tribal lands in PL-280 states.

[[Page 47768]]

    (5) An estimate of the total number of respondents and the amount 
of time estimated for an average respondent to respond: BJS expects to 
cognitively test the survey with about 10 agencies with an estimated 
burden of 60 minutes and to contact approximately 107 agencies by 
telephone to ask whether they provide services to tribal lands. We 
estimate the telephoned pilot test respondent burden to be about 10 
minutes per respondent. After the pilot test, BJS will determine the 
total number of agencies that will be contacted in the full survey 
effort. For the full survey, BJS estimates a maximum of 1,300 agencies 
with a respondent burden of about 30 minutes per agency, including 
follow-up time.
    (6) An estimate of the total public burden (in hours) associated 
with the collection: The total respondent burden for the cognitive test 
is 10 burden hours. The total respondent burden for the telephone pilot 
test is approximately 18 burden hours. The maximum expected respondent 
burden for the full survey effort is approximately 585 burden hours. 
Total burden for this effort is approximately 613 burden hours.
    If additional information is required contact: Melody Braswell, 
Department Clearance Officer, United States Department of Justice, 
Justice Management Division, Policy and Planning Staff, Two 
Constitution Square, 145 N Street NE., 3E.405A, Washington, DC 20530.

    Dated: October 10, 2017.
Melody Braswell,
Department Clearance Officer for PRA, U.S. Department of Justice.
[FR Doc. 2017-22166 Filed 10-12-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-18-P