Press Coverage
Guest opinion: High cost of cutting corrections budget
The State of Montana is facing $40 million in cuts to the corrections budget. This includes $16 million from "secure" facilities (Montana State Prison and Montana Women's Prison) and $14 million from community supervision (probation and parole). If you are concerned...
Montana launches ambitious sentencing reforms to slow the growth of prison population
From prisons to pre-release centers to probationary supervision, Montana has 15,000 criminal offenders on the books – an amount projected to grow in coming years, even though crime rates have been relatively stable or declining. Read the story here
Gazette Opinion: Growing pains in Corrections
Montana has seen a 100-percent increase in felony drug arrests since 2009. The number of criminal cases filed in District Courts statewide has exploded, with half of the growth the result of felony drug possession Read the story here
Domestic abusers get some treatment in Montana, but some wonder if it’s enough
Eight men shuffled into a classroom to spend 90 minutes learning how to stop abusing women. Read the story here
Montana Rescue Mission gets kitchen running just in time for Thanksgiving
The Montana Rescue Mission served meals to more than 600 people Thursday after managing to get its dining room and kitchen up and running two days before the holiday. Read the story here
Probation and Parole strives to help people relate to felons returning to their communities
The Billings Re-Entry Task Force turned nearly 60 law-abiding residents into felons last week. Read the full story here
‘We ask so much of them’: Stand Down helps veterans get connected with services
If in fact an army marches on its stomach, the veterans attending Thursday's Homeless Veteran Stand Down event were in perfect lockstep, thanks in no small part to the efforts of the women in Passages' Culinary Arts Program. Read the full story here
White powder at Alpha House still unidentified, but not a dangerous drug or hazardous
A white powder found in an envelope at Alpha House prerelease center on Wednesday morning is not a dangerous drug or a hazardous material, Billings police said. Read the full story here
Few Billings prerelease walkaways in first half of 2016
Last year Billings saw a spike in prerelease center walkaways with 23 cases reported. But the number of walkaways are down through the first half of 2016 and Alternatives Inc. administrators say the number of escapes reported to the media can be misleading. Read the...
South Side Neighborhood Task Force and volunteers paint over South Side graffiti
Tony Davis' excitement seemed to fly in the face of conventional wisdom as he watched fresh paint dry over the graffiti that had covered garages and siding in the alleyway behind the South Side residence he manages and lives in. Read the story here