The Missoula County Sheriff's Office has announced several changes, in personnel and in protocols that it believes will enhance its service to the Missoula area.

Public Information Officer Brenda Bassett said from this point forward, booking photos of suspects will be made available to members of the media.

"Recently, a judge ruled that mugshots are public information, so from now on, we'll be able to post those on our jail roster," Bassett said. "Now, if you're a member of the media or the general public, you can go online and pull those images up."

Bassett said another change was the promotion of Jace Dicken to Chief Deputy Coroner

"Our chief deputy coroner, Jace Dicken, recently began that full-time position Monday through Friday, so now we'll have someone available full-time for information so we can get those names out as soon as possible. We're excited that we'll have someone available during full office hours to the public."

Basssett also provided an update on the master plan for jail diversion.

"Cynthia Wolken who has been working on it, finished her first draft, and that was passed on to the sheriff who is reviewing it now," she said. "It's a 90 page document, so they'll be making their way through that and making any corrections that they need to, and then, once that's done, they'll be able to get that plan rolling, and we're all excited to see what changes will be coming for jail diversion, as well,"

 

 

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