A researcher from USD spent 18 months studying dynamics between the Rapid City Police Department and indigenous community members. Tuesday night he presented his findings to a full auditorium of city residents. Results show that the Native population is larger than census figures would have it, and there are arrest factors that have skewed the statistics.
Rapid City Police Chief Karl Jegeris says he is not surprised to learn that Rapid City's indigenous population is probably double the estimate of the U.S. Census Bureau. That was one finding in a study done by USD researcher Richard Braunstein. Results of that study were presented to a large community gathering Tuesday night.
Jegeris says he is shocked by another finding: the number of Indian women who are the victims of violent crime.
The report reveals that almost 67 percent of Native victims are female, and of those girls and women, more than 71 percent are victims of violent crime.
Jegeris says the community needs to come together to address these issues.
"Essentially what it is, ideally, is an opportunity to empower the Native American community to ensure that we're communicating in a two-way fashion so that we come to have better understanding of each other, both internally as a police department, and also for the community," Jegeris says. "And the ultimate outcome that we desire is enhanced trust."
The Rapid City Police Department is planning a Cultural Advisory Committee to address disparate numbers of Native arrests and victimizations. Officials are hoping to have that committee in place at the beginning of next year.
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