Panel backs new Bureau of Indian Affairs unit to improve prisons

Without debate, the Senate Indian Affairs Committee Wednesday approved a bill intended to improve unsafe and unsanitary conditions at the nation's 74 detention centers for American Indians.

The bill (S. 2734) was adopted by a voice vote before a committee hearing on another subject. Retiring Chairman Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R-Colo., said the measure was intended to implement recommendations of the inspector general of the Interior Department, who testified before the committee last September.

According to the inspector general, there were 11 fatalities, 236 attempted suicides and 631 escapes from Indian jails over the past three years as a result of the dismal conditions. He said the Indian detention program is "a national disgrace with many facilities having conditions comparable to those in third world countries."

To remedy the problem, the Senate bill would create a new Branch of Detention Services to oversee the prisons within the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Division of Law Enforcement. The new agency would be responsible strictly for detention, confinement and corrections within these facilities. It would have no law enforcement responsibilities.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs also would be required to keep records of all serious incidents within in the detention facilities. At present, according to the IG, many fatalities, suicides and escapes go unreported.