Navajo Nation sets hearings on criminal law changes in Apache County

A rewrite of the Navajo Nation’s criminal code could shape how police, prosecutors and courts handle crime in Apache County, but the public notice still does not lay out every change line by line. The Navajo Nation Council’s Law and Order Committee said the proposed amendments to Title 17 are meant to strengthen public safety, modernize criminal statutes and address gaps in prosecution and victim protection.

The first local stop is set for Many Farms Chapter House on June 8, where the committee’s regular meeting begins at 10:00 a.m. and the public hearing will follow. For Apache County residents, the most immediate opportunities to weigh in come close to home at St. Michaels Chapter House on June 15 and again at Chinle Chapter House on August 24. The broader schedule also includes Crownpoint on June 22, Cameron on June 29, Alamo on July 13, Shiprock on July 27 and Tuba City on August 17.

Committee materials say the rewrite is intended to create a safer Navajo Nation and reflect the current needs of Diné communities. The Law and Order Committee has said the effort responds to rising violent crime, outdated legal language and long-standing calls for stronger criminal laws. Chair Eugenia Charles-Newton has said communities have repeatedly asked for more modernized criminal laws, and that the changes are intended to better protect Navajo children and families from violent offenders while strengthening systems that have historically been ineffective.

The hearings also show the committee is treating the code rewrite as a regional public-safety issue, not a narrow legal exercise. The Law and Order Committee approved regional public hearings earlier this year, and the committee already held one Title 17 hearing at Utah Navajo Health Services in San Juan County on May 27. A December discussion with the Missing and Murdered Diné Relatives Task Force also focused on revisions to Titles 14 and 17, underscoring how closely the criminal code rewrite is tied to victim protection and the response to violent crime.

Title 17 is the Navajo Nation’s law-and-order code, so the debate reaches beyond legal language. It will help determine how justice is administered across Navajo communities, including the Apache County chapter houses where residents are being invited to speak first.