Booz Allen Works With DOJ, Tribes to Aid Crime Victims

American Indian and Alaska Native individuals are among the most vulnerable to crime and violence in the United States. In their lifetimes, more than 8 of every 10 (84.3% women, 81.6% men) will experience violence such as physical or psychological abuse by an intimate partner and sexual violence. What’s more, many of these and other crimes, such as stalking and human trafficking, go unreported, and hundreds of murders or missing person cases are unresolved.

Addressing crime victimization is challenging. Despite having disproportionately fewer resources for victim services, American Indian and Alaska Native communities are strong and resilient, offering many cultural healing services to crime survivors. Bringing a rich culture and strong connection to each other and the land, tribal communities are addressing the many challenges connected with crime victimization.  

With a focus on partnering with tribal communities to support survivors of crime, Booz Allen was just awarded a 5-year contract to work with the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office for Victims of Crime (OVC). Hear Booz Allen Senior Associate Susannah Numa and Principal Steven Parent talk about the Tribal Victim Services Capacity Building and Technical Assistance Program (Tribal CTAP), what Booz Allen will contribute to this work, and what makes this new program so unique. 

Numa calls the goal “sustainable capacity building.” It means working with each unique tribal community to strengthen its ability to provide victim services over time. Initiatives might include setting up and operating a domestic violence shelter or a program connecting people to workforce training and housing. “It’s about meeting the needs of victims along a continuum and supporting them in their healing journeys,” she said.

Booz Allen will contribute experience from similar projects, such as the DOJ’s Human Trafficking Capacity Building Center, and expertise in critical areas like organizational management, strategic communications, technology, and digital solutions. Booz Allen will be a partner to tribal communities listening to their needs and goals in enhancing and improving outcomes for American Indian and Alaska Native victims of crime.

“Think of this work as the operations side of victim services,” Numa said. “How do you develop policies and procedures for case management if you’ve never done this before? How do you integrate volunteers into operations in a way that meets victims’ needs and protects their confidentiality?”

Technology and resource constraints pose very real challenges, so teams often have to get creative, Numa added. “It’s not easy to send staff out for training when there are only two team members providing services, there are no roads to access the communities, and resources can be hours away. You might have to turn an online training course into a text module for trainees who don’t have Wi-Fi or broadband access.” 

Booz Allen approaches capacity building and technical assistance in a way that both recognizes the unique needs of individual communities and programs and builds on no-cost federal resources, Numa and Parent said.

“Programs will be different based on culture, geography, whether they’re in an urban or remote rural area. Understanding unique characteristics and tribal community nuances will be the key to success,” Parent said.

This involves leveraging Booz Allen’s expertise and working with American Indian and Alaska Native practitioners skilled in various topic areas. “Our work moves beyond sharing knowledge to helping communities operationalize that knowledge in the context of their communities,” he said.

Booz Allen is also teaming with tribal entities and tribal members and partnering with woman- and Native American-owned small businesses: Tribal Tech and Unapologetically Rez, which are also veteran-owned.

What’s most important, according to Parent, is “centering Indigenous voices in our program design. We must approach this space with cultural humility.”

For victims of crime in American Indian and Alaska Native communities as well as those providing them vital services, “We’re here to walk with them on their journey,” Parent said.

The OVC’s American Indian and Alaska Native Victim Services Resources microsite can be found at https://ovc.ojp.gov/program/tribal; the Human Trafficking Capacity Building Center site can be found at https://htcbc.ovc.ojp.gov; and the Center's resources are located at https://htcbc.ovc.ojp.gov/library