Basic Facts About Prisons and Montana
June 26, 2007 - 10:04pm
| Number of Prisons | Montana DOC operates 2 prisons and holds a number of prisoners in 3 contract regional (multi-county) prisons, 5 pre-release centers, a for-profit prison operated by Corrections Corporation of America, and county jails. |
| Number of Prisoners | 3,833 in 2006 (including prisons, pre-release, boot camp, and in-custody drug & alcohol programs). |
| Women Prisoners | 263 of Montana's prisoners are women in prison or county jails. 209 are in pre-release centers or in-custody treatment programs. |
| State Population | 944,632 (based on 2006 US Census Population Estimate) |
| DOC Budget | The Department of Corrections budget for July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2007, is $141 million which represents 9.4% of Montana's general fund. |
| DOC website | The Montana Department of Corrections site is updated with a daily population report and they have a page on visiting. |
| Death Penalty | Montana uses the death penalty. |
| Newspapers | The main newspapers in the state that cover stories related to prisons and Corrections policy are the Billings-Gazette and the Missoulian. You can see a fairly complete list of Montana newspapers here. |
| NIC Statistics | You can see the National Institute of Corrections stats on Montana here. The stats are mostly "per 100,000 people," based on the figures the state reports to the Federal Government. |
| Technical Violations | 59% of prison "admissions" are not based on a conviction for a crime --- they are for "technical violations" of parole. |
| Women in prison | In 2006, 81% of women in prison were serving time for one or more non-violent convictions. |
| Racial Disparity | Although Native Americans only make up 6.5% of people living in Montana, they make-up over 27% of the female state prison population and about 18% of the male state prison population. |
The source for many of these stats is the Department of Corrections web site and the 2007 Biennial Report.
