Montana Inmate Search

What is Montana Inmate Search?

A Montana inmate search entails looking up information about individuals imprisoned in the state. The state's Department of Corrections is responsible for inmates with sentences of more than one year while county and city jail administrators are in charge of inmates with under 12 months jail terms.

Montana allows members of the public to access inmate records. Anyone can request them by call, email, mail, or online search. Inmate records in Montana are generated by law enforcement agencies, courts, and correctional facilities. Common reasons for conducting Montana jail searches include:

• Ascertaining an inmate's imprisonment status
• Verifying a person's identity and history
• Finding a missing family member or friend
• Investigating crimes and gathering evidence
• Academic or journalistic research
• Locating witnesses or suspects

Are Inmate Search Records Open to the Public in Montana?

Yes, inmate search records are available to the public in Montana. According to the Montana Public Records Law, inmate records are typically considered public records and may be accessed by anyone. However, the following inmate records are usually exempted from public disclosure in the state:

• Inmate records containing information that affects public or personal safety
• Inmate records where privacy interest outweighs public disclosure advantages
• Juvenile records
• Protective orders
• Academic records
• Medical and mental health records
• Sealed or expunged inmate records

How To Perform Montana Inmate Lookup

Members of the public can search for Montana inmate records using the Offender Search portal. They can search with the first name, last name, or Montana Department of Correction ID number. If a name is used for the search, the query will return the name, birth year, and MDOC number of all persons with similar names. The inquirer can then select the likely result from the list to view additional inmate records. The additional information provided includes mugshot, full name, MDOC ID number, birth year, race, sex, holding facility, height, weight, tattoos, build, eye color, hair color, citizenship, offense, charge, sentence details, admission date, and offense date.

How To Search for an Inmate in Montana

Interested persons can use the Offender Search portal to search for inmates in the custody of the Montana Department of Corrections. They may also contact the MDOC by mail, email, and phone calls. Furthermore, county and municipal jail administrators allow the general public to search for inmates in their custody by mail, calls, or online.

Individuals using the MDOC's Offender Search portal to find inmates in their correctional facilities must provide the inmate's name or the MDOC ID number. They can then sort through the results to select the inmate of interest. They can also search for inmates by contacting the Department of Corrections at:

Furthermore, most county and city jail administrators in Montana also provide online search portals that can be used to find persons incarcerated in their jails. The inmate's name is generally one of the parameters that can be used for the search.

How to Conduct a Free Inmate Search in Montana

Interested persons can use reliable third-party platforms to search for inmates in Montana. Basic searches on these services are generally free, but anyone intending to obtain more detailed results may have to pay a small fee. Platforms like RecordsFindercan provide inmate records across multiple prison administrators such as federal, state, county, and city prisons and jails. Requestors may need to provide the name and assumed location of the subject for more accurate results.

How To Find a Federal Inmate in Montana

The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) manages federal inmates in correctional facilities nationwide. Montana does not have federal prisons located within its borders but 1,700 Montana residents are in federal prisons located in neighboring states. The public can use the Bureau of Prison's Inmate Locator to search for federal inmates within the Western region. The search can be done by using an inmate's BOP registering number or name.

What Can You Find with the State of Montana Inmate Search?

The following information may be obtained from a Montana inmate search:

• Mugshot
• Personal details of an inmate, such as first name, last name, birth year, sex, and race
• Identification marks, including tattoos and scars
• Physical description such as body build, height, weight, eye color, and hair color
• Name of the correctional facility and its location
• Citizenship
• Offense date
• Sentencing Judge
• Offense and offense code
• Projected discharge date
• County where the offense took place
• Current status of sentence

Jail and Inmate Search in Montana

There are 36 jails and 4 state-run prisons in Montana. As of the end of December 2022, the local jails held 1,700 inmates, and 4,300 inmates were imprisoned in state prisons. There were 140 youths in juvenile centers across the state.

Furthermore, according to the DOC 2023 Biennial Report, 2.2% of inmates under the MDOC supervision are Black, 77.4% are White, and 19.8% are American Indians. The average age of offenders is 41.5 for male inmates and 39.7 for female inmates. Criminal possession of dangerous drugs is the leading cause of incarceration in Montana.

Criminal Justice Quick Facts

Montana Imprisonment Rate (per 100,000 population)

758

Prison Population (All facilities/State and Federal jails)

7,700 / 4,300

Probation Population

9,300

Parole Population

1,400

Racial Disparity in Incarceration Rate

Black: White Ratio: 7.5:1

Hispanic: White Ratio: 0.6:1

Juvenile Custody Rate (per 100,000 juveniles)

89

Disenfranchised Population

5,330 (0.63%)

Disenfranchised African Americans

131 (3.21%)

Corrections Expenditures (state/local)

$225 M / $54 M

Montana Parole Population

The Montana parole population on January 1, 2022, was 1,390, and by the end of the year, it was 1,220.

Montana Prisons

Montana has four prisons and 36 jails spread over 56 counties. The state's prison system currently oversees about 3,000 inmates in jails and another 4,700 persons in prisons. The Montana Department of Corrections uses private correctional facilities for some of its inmates. It operates an annual budget of $225 million with a staff strength of about 1,400 employees.

The community corrections system in Montana is responsible for an additional 10,700 people on probation and parole. It costs the state $63,618 annually to house and care for each inmate. Based on 100,000 residents, Montana has an overall incarceration rate of 758. Similarly, its property crime rate and violent crime rate are 1,919 and 418 per 100,000 residents, respectively.

Frequently Asked Questions

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