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The Sheriff’s Office
jurisdiction covers the towns of Big Sandy, Loma, Carter, Highwood, Square Butte,
Fort Benton and Geraldine; as well as all rural areas within
Chouteau County. The Office has a force of nine full time
officers and a reserve force of sixteen and is responsible for the
investigation and prevention of crime, coroner duties, fire warden,
civil process, bailiff, Search and Rescue, and emergency services
response. Deputies are P.O.S.T. certified in the State of Montana
and are well schooled as a modern law enforcement presence in the
County. The Sheriff’s Office is an active member of the Tri-Agency
Task Force, which is charged with the investigation of drug crimes.
The new law
enforcement facility was built in 1986. This modern, up to date
facility houses the Sheriff’s offices, Detention facility and the
9-1-1 Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP). From this center, seven
certified Public Safety Dispatcher professionals take calls for
assistance including informational, and administrative calls; 9-1-1 calls
are also answered twenty-four hours a day/seven days per week. The
technology advanced system centers around Positron's Viper, the next
step in modern communications. Public Safety Dispatchers
are responsible for the alerting and support of the county’s nine
volunteer fire departments, three volunteer 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 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.
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COPYRIGHT© 2007 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED CHOUTEAU COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE, PRIVACY POLICY |
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