In September, the Colorado Department of Public Safety hosted its inaugural Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Interstate Law Enforcement Collaboration in Ignacio, Colorado, led by Colorado’s Office of the Liaison for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives.
The Office of the Liaison for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (OMMIR) was established in 2022 through Senate Bill 22-150.
Colorado’s first day-long MMIR Interstate Law Enforcement Collaboration brought together nearly sixty agencies from Colorado Tribes, Navajo Nation Public Safety, New Mexico, Arizona and, agencies from the Colorado Public Safety.
The gathering served as a powerful platform to foster dialogue, deepen partnerships and develop concrete actions for law enforcement agencies. Agencies focused on strategic planning on improving cross-jurisdictional cooperation, understanding cultural sensitivities, and ensuring victim-centered approaches that included the the few of the following topics:
- Navajo Nation Public Safety: Law Enforcement collaboration overview
- FBI New Mexico and Colorado: MMIP Interstate Collaboration
- Mesa Arizona: DNA Innovation in MMIP Investigations- Center of Human Investigation
- Colorado Bureau of Investigation: MMIR Colorado Training & Analytics
- Colorado Division of Criminal Justice: Human Trafficking
- Arizona Attorney General's Office: Law Enforcement collaboration
- CO AUSA Tribal Liaison
- Albuquerque Police Department Tribal/Metro Collaborative: Real Time Crime Center Partnerships
- Montana, Oklahoma, Utah: Tribal Law Enforcement
The gathering is a testament to the power of unity, collaboration and a shared commitment of a vision addressing Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives.