Law and Order Committee hears public input on Navajo criminal code changes

Community members, chapter officials and public safety leaders gathered at the Many Farms Chapter House on June 8 as the Law and Order Committee brought proposed changes to the Navajo Nation criminal code into a public forum. The hearing in Many Farms, Arizona, was part of a wider effort to collect testimony on Title 17 amendments that committee members say are aimed at creating a safer Navajo Nation.

The June 8 committee agenda described the hearing as a public discussion on criminal code changes, and the Navajo Nation Council said the meeting was one stop in a series of public hearings across the Nation. The goal is to build a record before lawmakers move ahead, while giving chapter communities a chance to weigh in on the laws that shape police response, prosecution and protections for victims and families.

That matters in McKinley County, where tribal justice issues are tied closely to daily safety concerns. Title 17 governs criminal law, and changes to it can affect how serious offenses are handled in tribal court, how prosecutors charge cases and how victims are notified after violent crimes. The Law and Order Committee’s oversight reaches courts, criminal and juvenile justice, law enforcement and emergency management, putting the panel at the center of those decisions.

The committee’s review comes after a series of recent Title 17 changes. In 2023, the Navajo Nation Council passed the Navajo Nation Victim Rights Act of 2023, expanding victims’ rights and protections. Earlier amendments made it a crime to assault Navajo Nation police officers and strengthened sentencing for offenders of tribal law. More recently, a Dec. 3, 2025 meeting with the Navajo Nation Office of the Prosecutor focused on strengthening public safety, addressing rising violent crime and modernizing outdated legal language.

The public hearings themselves were set in motion earlier this spring. A March 31, 2026 Law and Order Committee release said regional hearings on Title 17 amendments would begin in April, and a June 3 Navajo Nation Council announcement said the committee was inviting the public to attend a series of hearings on proposed changes to the code. The Many Farms stop showed that process moving beyond Window Rock and into chapter communities where residents live with the effects of those laws.

For families in and around McKinley County, the issue is less about legal theory than about whether tribal law keeps pace with assaults, domestic violence, juvenile cases and the needs of survivors. The committee’s push to update Title 17 now moves forward with a broader public record and a clearer mandate to link criminal code changes to public safety on the ground.