Deputy Chief of Investigations- Mark Lachapelle

Money seized as part of felony investigation	Detective photographing injuries of a victim	Coins recovered during a burglary investigation

The primary responsibility of the Investigation Division is to investigate felony criminal matters and to assist other agencies on criminal investigations.  Other general duties include, but are not limited to: background checks on individuals hired by the Bozeman Police Department and city of Bozeman, internal investigations, public talks and community education in various field ranging from forgery or robbery seminars, identity theft issues and dangerous drug educational classes.  The Investigation Division currently consists of a Deputy Chief, a Detective Sergeant, six detectives, two School Resource Officers, one evidence technician and two full-time secretaries.

General Detectives

The four general detectives and detective Sergeant investigate the vast amount of felony property and violent crimes that occur in the city limits of Bozeman.  These investigations include forgeries, burglaries, assaults, robberies, embezzlement cases and sexual crimes against children.  One detective also oversees the Sexual and Violent Registration Program for Gallatin County.

Drug Task Force

Marijuana Seized in drug bust	Effects of Methamphetamine over 4 years	Common Drug Paraphernalia used

School Resource Officers

Two officers serve as School Resource Officers for the Bozeman School district.  They cover the Bozeman High School, Bridger Alternative School, Sacajawea Middle School, Chief Joseph Middle School and six elementary schools.  The goals of the School Resource Program are to collaboratively work with educators, students, parents, and the community to provide a safe school environment and offer law related educational programs in the schools in an effort to reduce the crime, drug abuse, and violence.  Funding for these positions is split between the school district and the city of Bozeman.  The school district has also paid for much of the training and seminars these two officers attend.  The goals of the School  Resource Program are to collaboratively work with educators, students, parents, and the community to provide a safe school environment, offer law related educational programs in the schools in an effort to reduce the crime, drug abuse, and   violence. The program has been extremely successful and the Bozeman School Board decided that the  program would be funded even though the budget for the school district was constrained.  Program goals utilize the National School Resource Officer TRIAD concept (Law Enforcement Officer – Teacher –      Counselor) to achieve the programs goals.   The School Resource Officer's throughout the year have been active within the community with other  programs,    including Parent Advisory Council, safety seat clinics, Safe Kids/Safe Communities, and Headwaters Crime-stoppers.

           Investigative Support Services

Two secretaries help with incoming calls, criminal histories and transcription needs.  Our evidence technician is trained to process crime scenes and controls the vast amount of evidence handling needs for both the city and county. 

           SEXUAL & VIOLENT OFFENDER REGISTRATION PROGRAM

The Bozeman Police Department is responsible for ensuring all violent and/or sexual offenders residing in Gallatin County have registered a current address.  Registration ensures that the department has current photographs, fingerprints, DNA samples and current  location and status of subjects living in our area that are convicted qualifying offenses.   The registration process also ensures this information is available to the public.  Information on offenders is always available to the public on a bulletin board in the lobby of the Law and Justice Center, as well as the Internet site run by the Montana Department of Justice.  The site may be accessed at http://doj.state.mt.us/svor/.   The Bozeman Police Department's management of this program continues to receive accolades from the Montana Department of Justice as an exemplary program in the state.   

 

The program continues to see a rise in the number of offenders being supervised.   There are currently about 200 offenders registered in Gallatin County, with 60 residing in the City of Bozeman.  The number of offenders continues to hinge on early releases by the Montana Department of Corrections due to jail limitations and the ever-increasing population growth in Bozeman and the surrounding areas.  Several offenders have registered and left the area, while several former offenders have returned.  Registering new offenders, changing addresses of current offenders, notifying and mailing to the Montana Department of Justice with changes, press releases, community education presentations, and frequent calls from concerned citizens make the coordination of the program a busy one.  Several press releases concerning Level 3 sexual offenders moving into, or out of, the area are given each year.  Level 3 sexual offenders are those who have been evaluated and determined to show a higher likelihood to re-offend.  We take a proactive stance on these offenders and reach out to the public by releasing information through the media and conducting meetings with the public.  This has been a successful method of communicating with the public.  If an offender fails to comply with registration conditions, we complete an investigation regarding the particular offender and  request prosecution with the County Attorney's Office.    We encourage anyone with questions, concerns, or information regarding any of the registered offenders to contact the department.