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The new law enforcement facility was built in 1986. This modern,
up to date facility houses the Sheriff’s Department offices,
the jail and the countywide enhanced 9-1-1 emergency operations
center. From the
center, six certified and well trained dispatchers take calls
for assistance, informational, and administrative calls; as well
as 911 emergency calls twenty four hours a day/seven days per
week. Thru a modern communication system, which reaches
countywide, dispatchers are responsible for the alerting and
support of the county’s nine fire departments, three ambulance
services, quick response units, search and rescue, Disaster and
Emergency Services, and local government; as well as interfacing
with other public safety agencies from the State and federal
government.
The
detention center is certified by both the State of Montana and a
number of federal agencies to hold prisoners.
It is one of only a hand-full of local detention
facilities to meet state and federal standards and has done so
since 1986. There
is an administrator who is also a Deputy Sheriff and two full
time detention officers. Officers
are trained and certified thru the State of Montana. The
facility can hold up to 32 inmates, with the average daily
population averaging 25 inmates per day.
The
Chouteau County Search & Rescue operates under the auspices
of the sheriff, and consists of 20 motivated, trained volunteers
from throughout the county.
This unit has a number of specialized craft for both land
and river searches and recoveries and trains monthly.
Additionally, the Search and Rescue is the unit
responsible for extrication of trapped individuals in farm and
vehicle accidents and is very well equipped with modern
equipment and training.
The Chouteau County Sheriff’s Office has been
continuously in operation from the earliest days of settlement
of the County and was once responsible for a huge portion of
Northeastern Montana. The area encompasses plains, two mountain
ranges, three rivers, and several lesser creeks and streams as
well as the majority of the Upper Missouri National Monument,
just under 4000 square miles in all.
Old records of trials, sentences, and executions were
maintained in ledgers and have since been turned over to the
Montana Agricultural Museum in Fort Benton. Artifacts from those
early years can be found in that museum, as is a portion of the
old jail cells brought to Fort Benton via steamboat around 1880.
Chouteau
County Sheriff’s Office - 622-5451 - ccsomt@yahoo.com
Vern
Burdick, Sheriff/Coroner
Curt Owen, Undersheriff
911 Center, Kim Burdick
Search & Rescue, Keith Dallum
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