WASHINGTON -- Crime and violence in Indian Country continues to worsen, in large part because the federal government has not made law enforcement there a priority, native leaders and former federal officials testified Thursday.

Drug trafficking, gang activities and violence against women fester, but a lack of clear law and jurisdiction means criminal offenders often do not face prosecution, they said. Some local officials have lost confidence in Bureau of Indian Affairs offices, they added, and Justice Department officials considered firing U.S. attorneys who focused on Indian issues.

The hearing was the second this year on law enforcement in Indian Country held by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.

The rate of violent crime on Indian reservations is two and a half times the national average, Indian women are victims of rape and sexual assault at three times the national average, and tribes are faced with an epidemic of drug trafficking, several witnesses said.

"The testimony given by all of you is in some ways very depressing because it describes a law enforcement system that is broken,'' said Committee Chairman Byron Dorgan, D-N.D.

Thomas Heffelfinger, who was Minnesota U.S. attorney from 2001 to 2006, chaired the Justice Department's Native American Issues Subcommittee during that time.

"Native American issues are viewed within the Department of Justice as, quote, local issues,'' he said.

Whenever Indian affairs conflicted with other national priorities, Justice headquarters prevailed and left officials in the field disagreeing, he testified.

Heffelfinger was put on a list of federal prosecutors considered for dismissal. He made the list because of concerns that he spent too much time working on the Native American committee, Monica Goodling, formerly the Justice Department's liaison to the White House, testified before the House Judiciary Committee last month.

Five of the eight fired U.S. attorneys were leaders on the panel, Heffelfinger said. "It is not a mere coincidence that five of the eight were leaders amongst Native American prosecutors,'' he said.

Indian Country criminal law has never had a comprehensive plan, but instead remains a patchwork quilt of decisions and stop-gap legislation that few understand, he said. That needs to be changed, but the Justice Department "cannot do this,'' he said.

"Quite frankly it lacks the structure and the resolve to take the leadership in a comprehensive change in this jurisdiction,'' he said.

He recommended instead that Congress establish a criminal justice commission to propose reforms and a comprehensive new body of criminal law.

In the short term, he said, Congress should also boost funding for multi-jurisdictional task forces; establish family-violence centers to focus on child abuse, sexual assault and domestic abuse; and devise ways to empower tribal courts and leaders to crack down on drug deals and domestic abusers.

Relations with federal law enforcement have broken down, said Marcus Wells Jr., chairman of the Three Affiliated Tribes -- the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara -- of the Fort Berthold Reservation in western North Dakota.

"I humbly ask for your help,'' he said.

Wells said of 10 federal officer positions for the reservation, three are continually vacant. That leaves seven BIA officers to patrol 1 million acres. And they are often detailed off-reservation without notice to the tribal government, he added.

The response time to calls for help averages one hour, he said.

The Tribes have lost trust in local and regional BIA offices, he said. The Tribes determined that they should operate the law enforcement program themselves through a self-determination contract with the Interior Department, he said. But since they proposed that, the tribes have had poor communication and cooperation from BIA officials, he said.

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., advocated better resources for law enforcement in Indian Country.

"In Montana we have seven reservations, I live within 25 miles of one of them myself and I can tell you the jurisdictional issue is a big issue,'' he said. "But probably a bigger issue than that is sheer numbers of law enforcement people that are available.''

Joseph Garcia, president of the National Congress of American Indians, called for more resources; better cooperation across jurisdictions; enhanced tribal law enforcement authority; and a higher priority by federal and state authorities on their roles in law enforcement on Indian reservations.

Sexual violence against American Indian women has reached epidemic proportions, said Bonnie Clairmont, a victim advocacy program specialist with the Tribal Law and Policy Institute. Clairmont lives in St. Paul, Minn., but her work takes her throughout Indian Country, she said.

"What is most troubling is that the vast majority of Indian women often face insurmountable barriers to accessing services and realizing any type of justice for the horrendous acts of violence they have experienced,'' she testified

Clairmont helped interview victims for a recent Amnesty International report on violence against native women. The report cited Justice Department statistics showing that Native American and Alaskan Native women are 2.5 times more likely than other American women to be raped. She said those numbers are underreported.

She described a "typical scenario" where many Indian women who have been raped call law enforcement but don't get a response because of lack of staff or jurisdictional issues.

Some women then drive themselves many miles to a medical center, she added, only to be turned away because Indian Health Services facilities often lack rape kits or anyone trained to perform exams.

She said money alone and policing alone will not solve the problem. Instead, the federal government must work more closely with tribal governments to overcome jurisdictional issues that prevent perpetrators from being prosecuted and to come up with comprehensive plans. Exams and services for victims must be provided, she added.

Dorgan and other lawmakers appreciated the specific recommendations. He said he has become "weary'' of hearing about the problems.

"Nothing ever seems to happen except we have hearings and talk about it,'' he said. "We're going to make every effort to develop new initiatives It's just almost unbelievable what we are hearing and seeing and things aren't getting better.''