November 20, 2020 / Modified aug 19, 2021 5:24 p.m.

Crime in Indian Country: FBI explains its role

Crimes in tribal lands are a web of complexity, broken up between multiple jurisdictions.

There have been several big news stories across tribal lands in Arizona this year, two of which are the killing of Tohono O'odham Police Officer Bryan Brown and a recent report detailing recommendations to decrease missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls cases across the state.

Lorraine Rivera spoke to Steve Patterson, an assistant special agent in the FBI based in Tucson, about when and why the FBI has jurisdiction for some crimes committed in tribal lands.

Arizona 360
Arizona 360 airs Fridays at 8:30 p.m. on PBS 6 and Saturdays at 8 p.m. on PBS 6 PLUS. See more from Arizona 360.
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