Impacts of disparate policing in Indian Country

Like most racialised minority groups, Native Americans have long experienced disparate policing, both in the form of over- and under-policing their communities. Inevitably, the interactions between police and Native Americans shape the latter's perceptions of the brand of justice they can expect. Cumulatively, over- and under-policing reinforce the antipathy if not outright hostility towards police. They compound the historically strained relationship between Native Americans and the western criminal justice system. Yet the impacts of disparate policing also have broader community and political effects, including over-representation in the justice system, disempowerment, segregation and enhanced risk of victimisation.