HOPLAND – An updated agreement between the county of Mendocino and the Hopland Band of Pomo Indians will give the tribe's police new powers, officials reported Tuesday.

On Tuesday, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors approved an amendment to the intergovernmental agreement between the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office and the Hopland Band of Pomo Indians, which will allow the Hopland Commissioned Police Officers to “cite and release” state offenders, according to a report from District Attorney Meredith Lintott's office.

Unlike most tribal police departments, the Hopland Police are federal officers, who have been granted Special Law Enforcement Commissioned (SLEC) officer status through the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs, the agency reported.

In the past, persons arrested on the reservation had to be taken to the Mendocino County Jail for booking, even if the offense was of the nature that a citation and a promise to appear in court would be sufficient. Officials reported that the new authority will create greater efficiencies for the police in terms of the travel time and costs associated with the booking and release process at the jail.

Since the approval of the Intergovernmental Agreement on Jan. 28, 2009, the Hopland Reservation’s Police Department has been submitting law enforcement reports directly to the District Attorney’s Office, the agency reported.

The authority to issue citations is another important step in the cooperation between the district attorney’s office and the police to enforce and investigate California criminal law violations committed in Indian Country, according to the statement from Lintott's office.

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