BUTTE, Mont. – The Butte jail has been dealing with overcrowding issues for a long time, but now there’s a little more elbow room.
For the first time in years, as of Friday, the Butte Detention Center is below its maximum capacity with 71 inmates.
The jail has held more than that amount for a long time, getting as many as 120 inmates last year. Weather could be a factor.
“The weather has slowed some of the criminal activity and really everybody else, if you think about it, a lot of people aren’t real active when the weather’s bad, the snow is deep, it’s cold, and the bad guys take a cue from that as well this year,” said Butte Sheriff Ed Lester.
Jail officials say that the state prison system has also taken some of the inmates from the Butte facility that were waiting to be transferred to the prison.
