Glacier county is situated in northwestern montana on the eastern boundary of glacier national park

This $410,000 Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance under the Congressionally Recommended Awards (CFDA 16.753) program will enable the Glacier County Road Department in Montana to replace four aging patrol vehicles with new Ford F-150 Police Responder vehicles, and upgrade the detention facility's electronic lock and interface system. The grant supports critical public safety infrastructure and law enforcement capabilities in Glacier County, which encompasses 70% of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation and 20% of Glacier National Park, covering a vast 3,037 square mile area. The new patrol vehicles and detention facility security upgrades will improve response times, enhance officer and public safety, and provide a safer environment for prisoners, deputies, and first responders in this unique, multi-jurisdictional rural region. The award period runs from September 1, 2024 to September 30, 2026.

Boasting a service area of 3,037 square miles of rugged wilderness bordering a national park and the U.S. Canadian border, glacier county is a unique county. Glacier county includes 70% of the blackfeet indian reservation and 20% of glacier national park. Glacier county sheriffs office (gcso) provides law enforcement services to the entire county. Gcso may be a rural county sheriffs office but with its multiple jurisdictions, gcso has an annual call volume comparable to major police departments. Gcso responds to all threats, natural disasters, violent crimes, court ordered transports, coroner calls, civil processes in addition to providing support services to blackfeet law enforcement, cut bank police department, united states border patrol, montana highway patrol, bureau of indian affairs, glacier national park service, federal bureau of investigation and the U.S. Marshal service. Due to glacier countys multiple jurisdictions and lack of available detention facilities; glacier countys detention facility is vital to the county. The detention facility is capable of housing 24 prisoners. Incarcerations for charges ranging from petty theft to murder across all jurisdictions contributes to a daily average of 16-18 prisoners. An estimated 14,000 glacier county citizens rely on gcso to provide law enforcement services throughout the year, that number skyrockets from memorial day to labor day with an estimated 2 million people visiting glacier national park. Patrolling the 3,037 square miles of glacier county is demanding on vehicles. Deputies are tasked with patrolling hundreds of miles sometimes traveling to all sides of the county in a single shift. The glacier county law enforcement patrol vehicles and safety enhancements project will replace 4 aging patrol vehicles with 4 fully equipped 2024, f-150 - police responders. Securing funding to purchase patrol vehicles will ensure quicker response time while providing a safer county for glacier county citizens, the traveling public and glacier county deputies. In addition to replacing patrol vehicles the project will replace a non-functioning electronic lock and interface system in the glacier county detention facility. Current protocol requires detention staff to use physical keys to lock and unlock doors. This poses potential risks to detention staff as well as prisoners. Securing funding to replace this antiquated system would provide safer environment for prisoners, glacier county deputies, glacier county detention staff and all first responders who utilize the detention center.