Meth and Crime

In the Montana Department of Corrections 2007 Report to the Legislature (PDF)Department Director Mike Ferriter wrote, "(M)ethamphetamine has become a mind-boggling blight, to the point that about half of our inmates are in prison for meth-related crimes."

The same report showed that among men in the state's offender population, the top five conviction offenses are:

• possession of drugs
• theft
• felony DUI
• burglary
• selling drugs

For women, the top five are:

• possession of drugs
• theft
• issuing bad checks
• forgery
• selling drugs

Also according to the Department of Corrections:

• Around 80 to 85 percent of all offenders in the system have a drug or chemical-dependency problem, and that includes alcohol.
• About 53 percent of female inmates identify meth as one of their drugs of choice.
• About 36 percent of male inmates identify meth as one of their drugs of choice.

The Department of Corrections opened two residential methamphetamine treatment programs in 2007. A 40-bed women's treatment center opened in Boulder in April 2007 and an 80-bed men's treatment center opened in Lewistown in June 2007.

• The treatment centers are for those convicted a second or subsequent offense of methamphetamine possession.
• An offender will spend nine months in intense treatment at the facility, followed by six months of aftercare at a prerelease center.
• Offenders can be sent to the centers by the Department of Corrections, either directly from court or after violating conditions of parole or conditional release.
• The state Board of Pardons and Parole can also make a stay at one of the centers a condition of an inmate's parole.

The treatment program is in response to legislation passed in 2005.

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