Great Falls, Mont. — The Cascade County Sheriff’s Office is implementing immediate operational changes at the Cascade County Detention Center in Great Falls as a critical staffing shortage has left the facility without enough personnel to safely maintain its current inmate population.
The Detention Center is currently operating under emergency staffing conditions, and an emergency operations plan has been implemented to reduce the number of people housed at the facility to a level that can be safely managed with available staff.
Effective immediately, Sheriff Jesse Slaughter has ordered the following changes:
- All U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) detainees, along with individuals awaiting transfer to Montana State Prison, currently housed at the Detention Center must be coordinated for pickup and removal by Monday, September 21.
- The City Court inmate population will be limited to a maximum of 15 people at any given time.
- Once the 15-person City Court limit is reached, an existing City Court inmate will need to be released or transferred before another person can be placed in the Detention Center.
- Agencies will need to determine which individuals must remain in custody and arrange transfers or other housing for those who can be moved.
The staffing situation became more critical following four employee resignations. While the Sheriff’s Office has applicants currently moving through the hiring and background process, those candidates must still complete onboarding and training before they can be placed into the staffing rotation. Recruitment efforts and other measures aimed at stabilizing staffing levels continue.
“This is not a decision I make lightly, but we have reached a point where our staffing shortage requires immediate action,” Sheriff Jesse Slaughter said. “I recognize the importance of our federal, state and local partnerships but my first responsibility is ensuring the Cascade County Detention Center can operate safely. We simply do not have enough personnel right now to safely maintain the population we have been housing.”
These changes are being made solely because of the current staffing shortage and are not intended to end the county’s partnerships with ICE, CBP, the State of Montana or local agencies.
The Cascade County Sheriff’s Office will continue working with its federal, state and local partners to coordinate transfers and minimize disruptions while maintaining the safety and security of the Detention Center.
