Ute homicide rate soars

Crisis blamed on dearth of officers, prosecutors in area

Sara Burnett, Rocky Mountain News

Saturday, November 25, 2006

The homicide rate on the Ute Mountain Ute Indian reservation has soared to nearly 50 times the national average, prompting the state's new U.S. attorney to label it "the murder capital of Colorado."

Law enforcement is so scarce on the roughly 600,000 acres in Colorado's southwest corner that criminals have taken to calling in false crime reports on one end of the reservation. With police drawn an hour or more away, the criminals then strike on the opposite end.

It isn't unusual for the area's only FBI agent to be in Denver when a crime needs to be investigated. Often, not enough police are available to secure crime scenes, and the court responsible for handling misdemeanors on the reservation recently went almost a year with no prosecutor.

"This is a very significant issue, not just for the people living on the reservation, but also for the communities around it," said Troy Eid, U.S. Attorney for Colorado.

Among the Ute Mountain Ute, he added, "there is a great despair."

So far this year, five slayings and one unexplained death have occurred on the reservation, which has a population of about 2,000.

That equals a homicide rate of 250 killings for every 100,000 people - about 25 times last year's rate for Denver and Aurora.

The national rate in 2005 was 5.6 homicides for every 100,000 people, according to the FBI, while Colorado recorded four per 100,000.

Several factors have contributed to the reservation's increase in violent crime, but "the fundamental issue is a basic lack of law enforcement on the ground," Eid said.

Only five federal Bureau of Indian Affairs officers are responsible for policing the entire reservation, about 10 percent the number needed for a community that size, Eid said.

Not having enough police often causes crime scenes to be compromised, leading to a number of unsolved crimes that Sen. Ken Salazar has called "unacceptable."

In a recent case, for example, just one officer was available to guard an apparent homicide scene until a crime scene investigator could arrive, according to Eid.

When the victim's distraught sister arrived, the officer told her she couldn't see the body.

So the woman snuck around to the back of the house, entered through a window and moved the body, tainting any possible evidence.

Another factor has been a lack of prosecution of lesser crimes.

A Bureau of Indian Affairs court is supposed to handle misdemeanor cases, such as thefts and graffiti, on the reservation. However, during the past three years, the court was without a prosecutor for about a year, struggled to fill a public defender position and used a judge who was on contract rather than full time.

The result was several crimes going unprosecuted, Eid said.

Finally, increased use of methamphetamine has led to other crimes on and around the reservation.

The nearby Southern Ute reservation also has a homicide rate higher than the state or national average, though it has its own, much larger tribal police force and a tribal court that operates without the problems seen on the Ute Mountain Ute reservation, Eid said.

So far this year, the Southern Ute reservation has had two killings and one unexplained death. With a population of about 8,000, its homicide rate is 25 for every 100,000 people.

Overall violent crime also has increased on both reservations, Eid said, but statistics from previous years were not available Friday.

Eid said he has had several conversations with both tribal councils since taking office this summer, and that they are working to curb the problem.

Salazar also has discussed the situation with U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who said he would send at least one more FBI agent to southwest Colorado.

"If we have a problem down there, and I understand that we do, then we need to fix it," Gonzales said.

Gonzales also has said that he will consider Salazar's proposal to create a task force to bring in state and local help, a spokesman for Salazar said.

And Eid would like to add another assistant U.S. attorney to the two already working in Durango.

The hope is that once people on the reservations see crimes being prosecuted, they will be more likely to report them.

"It's a terrible thing when you pick up the phone and nobody answers, and that's what they're conditioned to believe," Eid said. "We're finally addressing that issue."

Ute Mountain Ute

250 per 100,000 Homicide rate to population ratio

595,787 Total area of acres

2,000 Approximate population

$4,839 Per capita income

49.7 percent High school graduate or higher

Southern Ute

25 per 100,000 Homicide rate to population ratio*

818,000 Total area of acres

8,000 Approximate population

$6,124 Per capita income

75.2 percent High school graduate or higher

Other cities

2005 homicide rates per 100,000 people:

9.5 victims Aurora

10.5 victims Denver

4 victims Colorado

5.6 victims United States*Rate Is Through Nov. 24, 2006 Source: U.S Department Of Commerce; U.S Attorney'S Office, District Of Colorado Other Cities 2005 Homicide Rates P ...

burnetts@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5343