Research Paper: Violent crimes in the state Montana 2021-2022

In the year 2021, there was an estimated 470 violent crimes reported per every 100,000 people in the state of Montana (Monares, 2021). Nationwide, the ratio of violent crimes reported per 100,000 people was much lower sitting at an average of 399 reported violent crimes and or offenses. Opinions put aside and statistically speaking, the state of Montana has a growing rate and concern of violent crimes occurring. Violent crimes impact Montana by devastating all parties involved, the community in which the crime occurs, leaves a financial burden on hospitals and other health care systems, and stresses the already spread thin resources of most law enforcement agencies.

According to the National Institute of Justice, a violent crime is any criminal offense in which a victim was threatened with physical harm and or is harmed during a criminal act (Stork, 2021). When exposed to violence, an individual can manifest health consequences which can include a wide array of mental disorders (Rivara, et al., 2019). The lasting effects of a violent crime for a victim can lead to a lifelong battle of mental challenges to include the sense of feeling safe again. When examining the parties involved in a violent crime, it is much more than a victim and a perpetrator. Families, friends, and onlookers can all be affected by the trauma that was exhibited in front of them. While violent crimes are not preventable, legislation such as The Montana Sexual or Violent Offender Registration Act work as a tool to track those who commit violent crimes and aids in future prevention of these malicious acts.

Community violence has the ability to affect everyone and is responsible for over 1.5 million emergency room visit annually across the United States (CDC, 2022). Due to limited statistics provided by the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, the exact number of emergency room visits correlating to violence in Montana is unknown. But the Montana Board of Crime and Control averaged that over 380 violent offenses occurred in Cascade County alone in the year 2021. The violent offenses that comprise the average figure of 380 include aggravated assault, forcible rape, manslaughter, and robbery (MTIBRS, 2021). Arguably, the 380 offenses reported in Cascade County in 2021 could account for emergency room visits as well. By utilizing the Montana Based Reporting System, any individual can see that Cascade County alone is seeing a steady increase in violence related crime from previous years. Correcting the issue of community violence is no easy task. According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, community violence can be weakened with outreach violence programs, utilization of treatment services related to behavior therapy, and utilizing training programs that help young adults develop healthy behaviors (CDC, 2022).

Hospitals and other health care systems such as treatment centers deal heavily with the fallout of violent crimes. Medical centers are tasked with providing assistance or support for those who have fallen victim to violent crimes as well as those who partake in these heinous acts. In a 2017 American Hospital Association report (AHA), the AHA broke down the financial statements of 123 hospitals around the United States. Within this financial analysis, it was estimated that these hospitals utilized 752 million dollars worth of medical care for patients of violent crimes (American Hospital Association, 2017). For the state of Montana, to help curve medical expenses that might be left for a victim to pay, programs such as the Crime Victim Compensation exists. This type of program allows anyone who has become a victim of a violent crime to enroll and receive assistance in paying medical expenses such as hospital bills, follow up appointments, mental health treatment, and cover loss wages if an extended period of work is needed to be missed (Montana Department of Justice, 2021).

The Montana Violent Offender Task Force was able to make 1,435 arrests for the year 2021 (Great Falls Police Department, 2021). While special task forces do exist for the capture of violent criminals, most law enforcement agencies don’t necessarily have the funding and or manning to handle the overabundance number of violent crimes occurring. As of March 22nd, 2022, a 1-billion-dollar funding package was passed to assist Montana law enforcement agencies (Fullerton, 2022). As the much-needed funding increases for law enforcement agencies, the number of violent crimes show no signs of slowing down. The result of a climbing crime rate means law enforcement agencies are working their officers sometimes past the point of exhaustion which could result in errors in criminal matters.

The state of Montana is currently seeing an increase in violent crimes from previous years. To combat violent crimes in Montana, crime prevention strategies such as Project Safe Neighborhoods, community-oriented policing, and social media crowdsourcing should be and continued to be used. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide program that was launched back in 2001. This program brings together local, state, federal, and even tribal law enforcement officials to identify violent crime issues within a community and together develop a solution (U.S. Department of Justice, 2021). This program allows for different agencies of all jurisdictions to compare data from their communities and work together in finding a solution to curve the rate of violent crimes. Community policing and social media crowdsourcing strategies go hand in hand together. These two strategies ensure that community members can work with local law enforcement agencies to make certain that their concerns are being heard. Social media crowdsourcing utilizes websites such as Facebook to allow law enforcement and the public to share crime statistics and works as an open platform for community feedback and tips. Transparency between law enforcement and the public will allow for both parties to gain a better understanding of the problem at hand and create an environment that strives for solutions.