Violent and sexual offenders were the target of an intense compliance check in Missoula County that ended last week. 

Missoula Police department Public Information Officer Travis Welsh said on Thursday, that several agencies were involved in the project.

"The police department was part of a small task force that went out to do address verifications on sexual and violent offenders in the Missoula area," Welsh said. "Those agencies were the U.S. Marshals Service, the Montana Attorney General's office, the Department of Corrections, and the Missoula County Sheriffs Office."

Welsh said the agencies contacted over 250 violent and sexual offenders and found many in various stages of non-compliance.

"We made arrests for not only outstanding felony warrants but also for non-compliance issues," he said. "We found that one offender had absconded from probation, and we brought several others into compliance that were not. That usually means they failed to fill out an address verification card, which they do on a regular basis."

Welsh said, in his opinion, these compliance sweeps should be done more often.

"We'd like to do it more often, but when resources allow, we like to do it once or twice a year."

In the most recent sweep, 13 sex offenders were arrested for outstanding felony warrants, and 23 sex offenders were found to be in non-compliant status.

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