We obtained data on 65 Police and 57 Sheriff’s Depts in the state of Montana.
Scorecard at a Glance
Average for 4 Sections: 38%
Scores range from 0-100% comparing states with population. States with higher scores spend less on policing, use less force, are more likely to hold officers accountable and make fewer arrests for low-level offenses.
| Police Funding: 56% | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Police Budget Cost per Person | ||||
| Misconduct Settlements | ||||
| Fines/Forfeitures | ||||
| Police Presence/Over-Policing (Officers per Population) | ||||
| Police Violence: 38% | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Force Used per Arrest | ||||
| Deadly Force per Arrest | ||||
| Unarmed Victims of Deadly Force per Arrest | ||||
| Racial Disparities in Deadly Force | ||||
| Police Accountability: 18% | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Misconduct Complaints Upheld | ||||
| Excessive Force Complaints Upheld | ||||
| Discrimination Complaints Upheld | ||||
| Criminal Misconduct Complaints Upheld | ||||
| Approach to Law Enforcement: 41% | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arrest Rate for Low Level Offenses | ||||
| Homicides Solved | ||||
| Racial Disparities in Drug Arrests | ||||
| Jail Incarceration Rate | ||||
| Jail Deaths per 1,000 | ||||
Key Findings
72 Killings by Police
Based on population, a Black person was 4.2x as likely and a Latinx person was 1.1x as likely to be killed by police as a White person in Montana from 2013-23.
858 civilian complaints of police misconduct
14% were ruled in favor of civilians from 2016-22.
339,291 arrests made
61% of all arrests were for low-level, non-violent offenses from 2013-23.
Police Funding By Year
$374.16M | 1,041,732 Residents | $397 per Resident
More Police Funding per Capita than 63% of States
Source: US Census Bureau
Funds taken from communities in fines and forfeitures
Total: $371.66M from 2010-20
More Fines/Forfeitures than 75% of States
Source: US Census Bureau
Number of officers per 1k population
2,360 Officers | 19.3 per 10k Residents
More Officers per Population than 36% of States
Source: Federal LEOKA Database
Less-Lethal Force
Used More Force per Arrest than N/A of States
321 Incidents | 107 every 10k arrests | ▶+35%
No Data Found Add Data
Source: Police Department
Deadly Force
72 Killings by Police from 2013-23 | 2.1 every 10k arrests
^ More Killings by Police per Arrest than 86% of States
Source: Mapping Police Violence
Deadly Force by Armed Status
8% Unarmed | 39% Did Not Allegedly Have a Gun
^ More Unarmed People Killed per Arrest than 56% of States
Police Violence by Race
Population of Montana
Montana Law Enforcement Demographics
People Arrested
People Killed
^ More Racial Disparities in Deadly Force than 57% of States
Source: Uniform Crime Report, Mapping Police Violence, LEMAS
Total civilian complaints
858 from 2016-22 | 14% Ruled in Favor of Civilians
Use of Force Complaints
16 Reported | 6% Ruled in Favor of Civilians
Complaints of Police Discrimination
6 Reported | 0% Ruled in Favor of Civilians
Alleged Crimes Committed by Police
12 Reported | 0% Ruled in Favor of Civilians
Arrests By Year
339,291 Arrests Reported from 2013-2023
Arrests for Low Level Offenses
206,278 Arrests | 22 per 1k residents
^ Higher Arrest Rate for Low Level Offenses than 46% of States
Disparities in Arrests for Low Level Offenses by Race/Ethnicity
Black people were 9.6x more likely and Latinx people were 1.6x more likely to be arrested for low level, non-violent offenses than a white person.
Percent of total arrests by type
All Arrests for Low Level Offenses ( 61% )
Drug Possession ( 7% )
Violent Crime ( 5% )
Homicides Unsolved
374 Homicides from 2013-23 | 161 Unsolved
^ Solved Fewer Homicides than 57% of States
Percent of Homicides Unsolved by Race
Homicides of Black Victims Unsolved ( 7% )
Homicides of Latinx Victims Unsolved ( 25% )
Homicides of White Victims Unsolved ( 4% )
Deaths in Jail
30 Deaths from 2013-19 | 12 per 1k Jail Population
Homicide Suicide Other Investigating
^ Higher Rate of Jail Deaths than 67% of States
Jail Incarceration rate
2,510 Avg Daily Jail Population | 2 per 1k residents
^ More than 48% of Sheriff's Depts
People in Jail Without Being Convicted
58 % of People in Jail
Montana Statewide Scores
Rankings are based upon a 0 to 100 percentage scale. States with higher scores use less force, make fewer arrests for low level offenses, solve murder cases more often, hold officers more accountable and spend less on policing overall.
Overall Scores for States where We Have Obtained the Most Data.
👁 Grade Scale
Tap "show more" to see extended list
* An asterisk indicates this location did not publish enough data to evaluate. Click below to add data to the Scorecard.
About This Scorecard
This is the first nationwide evaluation of policing in the United States. It was built using data from state and federal databases, public records requests to local police departments, and media reports. While police data is never perfect, and there are additional indicators that still need to be tracked, the Police Scorecard is designed to provide insight into many important issues in policing.
Police Scorecard is an independent 501(c)(3) organization, learn more about our team here. If you have feedback, questions about the project, or need support with an advocacy campaign, contact our Founder, Samuel Sinyangwe.
Use this Scorecard to identify issues within police departments that require the most urgent interventions and hold officials accountable for implementing solutions. For example, cities with higher rates of low level arrests could benefit most from solutions that create alternatives to policing and arrest for these offenses. In cities where police make fewer arrests overall but use more force when making arrests, communities could benefit significantly from policies designed to hold police accountable for excessive force. And cities where complaints of police misconduct are rarely ruled in favor of civilians could benefit from creating an oversight structure to independently investigate these complaints.
Here's how to start pushing for change
- Contact your State's Governor and Attorney General, share your scorecard with them and urge them to enact policies to address the issues you've identified:
-
Look up your state and federal representatives below, then tell them to take action to hold police accountable in your community.
Find Elected Officials
Join a team of researchers, students, data scientists, activists and organizers working to collect, analyze and use data for justice and accountability.
Create data visualizations and content that raises awareness about solutions to the issues identified by the data.
What's Next
Step 1: COMPLETED
Obtain data on 100 California cities. Refine methodology in response to feedback from communities, researchers and local officials.
Step 2: COMPLETED
Expand to every major law enforcement agency in America and include additional indicators such as police budgets and jail incarceration.
Step 3: IN PROGRESS
Inform data-driven solutions nationwide. Update as new federal, state and local data are collected. Track progress and hold cities accountable to results.