11/9/2022 0 Comments Kalispell jail roster“A lot of these guys know they have warrants for their arrest, but they don’t care because they know there is no space for them in jail,” Curry said. In other instances, offenders who need to serve jail time for lesser offenses avoid their punishment. #Kalispell jail roster freeOccasionally, Curry said, jail officials meet with judges and county attorneys to see what inmates can be released on their own recognizance or be put on house arrest in order to free up space. Curry said there are approximately 3,800 people in Flathead County with outstanding warrants - a number that does not include warrants issued by police departments in Kalispell, Columbia Falls and Whitefish. Some Montana inmates have been jailed up to two years while awaiting sentencing.īecause of limited jail space, many arrest warrants go unanswered. According to the report, the average pre-trial detainment is anywhere from three to nine months. The ACLU report placed much of the blame on shrinking budgets and a sluggish criminal justice system. In April of this year, there were 491 inmates in the Billings jail. According to a recent report by the American Civil Liberties Union, Montana’s jails are “locked in the past” and are “bearing the brunt of a broken criminal justice system.” The report, issued earlier this year, found that Yellowstone County Jail was built to hold approximately 285 inmates but is often holding more than 400. It’s just too small.”įlathead County’s plight is common. “We do our best to keep the public safe, but the system isn’t working the way it should because we just don’t have the space,” Curry said last week while walking through the jail. The inmate population has ballooned to more than 100 on most night and Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry says some offenders are released to make room for those deemed more dangerous. Bookshelves have been replaced with more beds. Thirty years later, the library is relegated to a rolling cart of books. The jail, located in downtown Kalispell in the same facility as the district and justice courts and county attorney’s office, even had a library where those incarcerated could check out books or study. When the Flathead County Detention Center was built in 1985, it could hold 63 inmates.
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