BILLINGS - The Yellowstone County Detention Facility continues to operate over capacity, even to the point of turning away people who would otherwise be in jail.
The Billings City Council wants to help by analyzing the whole judicial system.
The City Council sent a letter to the Yellowstone County Commissioners.
The council wants to pay for half of a study.
The city and the county say it's important to work together on this issue.
It's become a familiar problem.
Nearly every day in Billings, police officers make an arrest but have to let a suspect go due to a lack of space at the jail.
"Control of the jail rests with the Sheriff and the county commissioners," said Billings City Council Member Jennifer Owen. "But the city of Billings has to advocate for what matters to the people we represent. And we continually hear that jail expansion is necessary."
Some Bllings city leaders want to change that.
Owen and Mayor Bill Cole wrote a letter, unanimously endorsed by the rest of the council, to Yellowstone County Commissioners calling for action.
The current jail holds about 430 inmates and is typically beyond full.
When MTN checked in last fall the jail was at 130% capacity.
This is happening at a time when Sheriff Mike Linder, R-Yellowstone County, has told commissioners the jail is currently short 17 corrections officers.
Owen says a full jail decreases the deterrence on crime.
"We just have this sort of spiraling effect where people feel emboldened to be incredibly disrespectful to law enforcement and continue to do dangerous things in the community," Owen said. "And the city council has to get more serious about it. And we want to partner with the county commission to do that."
The council's letter states the jail is just one part of a complicated and overtaxed criminal justice system.
Commissioners plan on discussing the letter and request from the city.
Commissioner Don Jones, R-Yellowstone County, agrees that an assessment of the entire judicial system is necessary.
"Right now we have people sitting in our jail way too long," Jones said. "We need to be able to get them through the system and as they sit in our jail longer, that means we need more capacity."
The cost of the survey and the plans for a potential new jail or addition. still remain to be seen.
"We understand that we need a systemic evaluation to really know where the jail fits in and what types of expansion might be needed," Owen said.
"The whole system does need to be looked at to make sure that it's running efficiently and effectively, " Jones said.
