Missoula Measures - Incarceration
- Related Data
- Brief Background
- Release from Jail or Prison
- The Pre-Release Center
- How is Pre-Release Working?
- Recidivism
- Who is in the US Prisons?
- Related Websites
Why this topic?
Prison and jail inmates are an often-overlooked, but very “needy”, segment of the population. In addition to multiple social and economic disadvantages, they also face the stigma of their criminal record which may exacerbate trouble finding work or housing, or making friends and establishing healthy relationships with those on the “outside”. This is a population that needs lots of help to stay outside the prison system and have a decent chance of building new lives.
Indicator
NONE
Related Data
The Missoula County Detention Facility, built in 2000, is divided into 2 sections:
- County Jail, housing 208 adults (32 females), and 24 juveniles
- State Dept. of Corrections, housing 144 males
About 89% of the county jail inmates are from Missoula. No statistic is kept on the number of Missoulians in the state prison section. The State Dept. of Corrections makes no effort to incarcerate inmates in their home county---they are sent to the facility that has space for them, and where the housing cost is the least.
The State Prison in Deer Lodge houses 1300 male inmates; the Women’s Prison in Billings houses 150 females. The private prison in Shelby houses about 400 male inmates, with a capacity of 512. The State Prison has a 3-month reintegration program that teaches job and life skills, and health, but does not include birth control or nutrition. They also offer a wellness program for inmates over 40.
Male inmates:
- The three most frequent crimes for inmates in Montana prisons (theft, burglary, rape) have not changed in the past two years, and the same positions as they did in 2008.
- Felony drunken driving, ranked sixth two years earlier, is the
fourth
most-common offense in 2011, while sexual assault remains fifth. - Drug possession dropped from fourth to seventh.
- Half of the 10 most-frequent offenses among the male inmate population were violent crimes.
MT Bureau of Justice 2011 Biennial Report
Female inmates:
- In 2010, the top four offenses, in order of frequency, were forgery, drug possession, theft and writing bad checks.
- Felony drunken driving moved from seventh to fifth since 2008.
- Deliberate homicide climbed from 13th to the ninth most common offense.
- Eight of the 10 most-common offenses were nonviolent crimes.
MT Bureau of Justice 2011 Biennial Report
Brief Background
Release from Jail or Prison
In Missoula, Conditional Release, Probation & Parole, and Pre-Release are all administered by Missoula Correction Services, Inc, a non-profit organization that contracts services with the State of Mt. They have a 5-member Board of Directors comprised of individuals from Mental Health Care, Criminology, Public Assistance, Police Dept, County Attorney’s Office and an at-large person. The majority of those released from prison go into the Probation & Parole system.
Probation & Parole
Inmates who have completed their jail time, or served their minimum sentence, are released under supervision and live in the community. Depending upon their stability, they must check in with a probation or parole officer weekly, bi-monthly or monthly until their entire sentence, including suspended time, is completed.
Conditional Release
In an effort to reduce prison crowding, some inmates who have exhibited good behavior and been reviewed by the Director of Prisons and the Governor may be released before their sentence is completed. They live in the community and report to Probation & Parole officers on a weekly or bi-monthly schedule until their entire sentence (jail time plus suspended time) is completed.
Pre-Release
An inmate completes the last 6 months to 2 years of his/her sentence in a pre-release facility with a very structured and strictly supervised environment. Inmates must find employment in the community, and attend therapy sessions and educational programs. When their sentence is completed, they move on to Probation & Parole supervision. Inmates must apply for the Pre-Release program and are comprehensively screened. They must adhere to an individual treatment / progress contract.
The Pre-Release Center is located next door to the Missoula County
Detention Facility and the Probation & Parole Office, and was built in
2002. It has a capacity for 80 males and 20 females, but sometimes
exceeds that number. There are 11-13 inmates per counselor. Inmates may
have spent anywhere from 6 months to 30 years in prison, either Deer
Lodge (70%) or the Missoula County Detention Facility (30%), and will
spend 6 months to 2 years in Pre-Release. There are 5 Pre-Release
Centers in Montana (Helena, Billings, Great Falls, Butte, Missoula) that
operate independently. Combined, they house about 500 pre-release
inmates.
Finishing a sentence in the Missoula Pre-Release Center (as opposed to
prison) is a privilege, not a right. Inmates must apply for the program,
and are screened by Pre-Release for acceptance.
Pre-Release is a very structured environment that provides a secure place for an inmate to prepare for his/her return to society. Based upon individual needs, treatment may be mandated for specific problems (anger management, drug addiction, parenting, etc).
These are often conducted outside the facility. On-premises education includes life skills training, including housekeeping and budgeting (cleaning duties in Pre-Release Center; must pay victim restitution, have a savings account, and pay room/board, etc.), in addition to education concerning personal grooming, healthy relationships, birth control, criminal thinking patterns, etc. Inmates meet weekly with their counselors who help them evaluate their progress, work through problems, and address other concerns (i.e. almost all female inmates have been sexually assaulted). Smoking in 2 designated and monitored smoking rooms is allowed at Pre-Release, but the amount of time spent in the room, as well as the number of smokers at one time, is strictly limited.
How Is Pre-release working?
Perhaps as many as 70% of pre-release inmates think it is definitely a worthwhile program. Only about 20% of pre-release inmates fail to meet the terms of their agreed-upon contract and are returned to prison.
Increasing the number of Pre-Release Centers in the state could improve inmate integration into their home communities by providing support, encouragement, and job training in the area where they plan to live.
Recidivism US Dept. Justice. This is the most recent info available. A study of recidivism for prisoners released in 2005 will be available in 2012.
- In 1994, the national recidivism rate for males and females was 67.5%
- In the 1990’s, the Montana recidivism rate for males was 35-45%; for females it was 30-40%.
- Nationally, 2.5% of rapists are rearrested for rape within 3 years; 1.2% of murderers are rearrested for homicide.
- In 2008, nationally, 16% of parolees are returned to jail; In Montana, 15% of parolees are returned to jail.
- Seven states have a parolee return rate of less than 7%.
- Six states have a parolee return rate of more than 21%.
Many other states have pre-release programs, but often do not provide the security, structure or extensive services that Montana’s programs offer. They may be merely half-way houses that provide a night-time housing for recently-released inmates, or only provide job counseling and services.
One study concluded that inmates involved in PIECP (Prison Industries
Enhancement Certification Program) had a lower recidivism rate and a
higher employment rate than inmates in Traditional Industries or Other
Than Work activities. Correctional
Industries Preparing Inmates for Re-entry: Recidivism & Post-release
Employment
Authors: CJ Smith ; J Bechtel ; A Patrick ; RR Smith ; L Wilson-Gentry;
June 2006
Who is in US Prisons?
US Bureau
of Justice, and Montana Dept. of Corrections
If current trends continue, 6.6% of our population will serve time in prison during their lifetime.
| Percent of inmates who: | US | Montana |
| Have high school diploma | 56% | 23% |
| Have been treated for a mental or emotional disorder prior to arrest | 25% | 30% |
| Had been drinking at the time of the offense | 36% | na |
| Women inmates who suffered physical or sexual abuse prior to arrest | 48% | na |
| Women inmates who had been victims of rape at some point in their lives | 27% | na |
- 57% are under age 35
- The MT prison population of women is growing at twice the rate as that for men.
Percent of inmates incarcerated in state prisons for:
| US | Montana | |||
| Men | Women | Men | Women | |
| Violent Crimes | 49 | 8 | 37 | 40 |
| Property Crimes | 20 | 23 | 14 | 24 |
| Drug Crimes | 21 | 17 | 7 | 19 |
* Montana tends to reserve prison for female offenders convicted of violent offenses, rather than non-violent offenses.
Ethnicity of Montana prison inmates:
- Caucasian - 73.3%
- American Indian - 19.5%
- Other - 17.2%
Percent of Montana inmates who are from various counties:
Missoula – 13%
Lewis/Clark – 7.9
Cascade – 13.9
Gallatin – 4.2
Yellowstone – 15.6 Flathead – 9.2
Related Websites
Mt. Dept of Corrections - 2011 Biennial Report
U.S. Bureau of Justice - Crime Report and Statistics
