Montana State Prison Sees Growing Population

State officials are exploring options to ease the growing prison population at the Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge.

Warden Leroy Kirkegard says a few months ago, the prison had over 100 offenders awaiting a cell at the prison. Another 300 were on waiting lists for other Montana Department of Corrections facilities.

The prison has had to contract inmate beds at the private corrections facility in Shelby and to the county jails statewide.

Kirkegard tells The Montana Standard (http://bit.ly/12AJZWa) that he is working to launch a dramatic restructuring of the way Montana deals with inmates following an assessment from consultants.

The initiative would involve more placement of offenders in communities under the supervision of probation and parole.