Public Safety Study

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This study has concluded. 

View of Missoula County Community Justice Department brick building on summer day

View the final report from the public safety study.

The Missoula County Community Justice Department’s first public safety survey closed on Oct. 7, 2022, and a follow up one closed in July 2023. Thanks to everyone who responded! Many other counties across the nation are participating in this study, and Missoula came out with one of the highest response rates of the first survey.

The County has worked with researchers to ask over 1,500 residents in Missoula County and two other counties (Mecklenburg, NC and St. Louis, MO) what it means for a community to be safe. These responses have been narrowed to 120 statements that touch on things like low rates of violent crime, access to affordable housing, and the ability to move through the day without fear of being harmed.

This information was then used to create a map to define and measure community safety, which can be used to set priorities, guide action and assess change. View it under "documents" on the right-hand side.

Then, we performed a second survey called the "Redefining Community Safety" survey, which closed on July 31.

Staff compiled a draft report of this study and met with a local board of stakeholders. The final report is now available in the "documents" section on the right-hand side, and you can read a basic recap of the study below under "Surveys."

If you have any questions, please contact Lee Slocum at slocuml@umsl.edu

This project is funded by a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Safety & Justice Challenge Research Consortium. The Safety & Justice Challenge is a national initiative to safely reduce jail populations. The Safety & Justice Challenge examines the efficiency of justice system processes and offers pretrial and reentry programming and services based on local data and evidence-based screening methods. Missoula County is one of the 57 cities, counties and states participating in the consortium network. Since 2017, the county has received $1.4 million in grant funds from the MacArthur Foundation to reduce the jail population and recidivism. Learn more about the jail diversion efforts online.

View of Missoula County Community Justice Department brick building on summer day

View the final report from the public safety study.

The Missoula County Community Justice Department’s first public safety survey closed on Oct. 7, 2022, and a follow up one closed in July 2023. Thanks to everyone who responded! Many other counties across the nation are participating in this study, and Missoula came out with one of the highest response rates of the first survey.

The County has worked with researchers to ask over 1,500 residents in Missoula County and two other counties (Mecklenburg, NC and St. Louis, MO) what it means for a community to be safe. These responses have been narrowed to 120 statements that touch on things like low rates of violent crime, access to affordable housing, and the ability to move through the day without fear of being harmed.

This information was then used to create a map to define and measure community safety, which can be used to set priorities, guide action and assess change. View it under "documents" on the right-hand side.

Then, we performed a second survey called the "Redefining Community Safety" survey, which closed on July 31.

Staff compiled a draft report of this study and met with a local board of stakeholders. The final report is now available in the "documents" section on the right-hand side, and you can read a basic recap of the study below under "Surveys."

If you have any questions, please contact Lee Slocum at slocuml@umsl.edu

This project is funded by a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Safety & Justice Challenge Research Consortium. The Safety & Justice Challenge is a national initiative to safely reduce jail populations. The Safety & Justice Challenge examines the efficiency of justice system processes and offers pretrial and reentry programming and services based on local data and evidence-based screening methods. Missoula County is one of the 57 cities, counties and states participating in the consortium network. Since 2017, the county has received $1.4 million in grant funds from the MacArthur Foundation to reduce the jail population and recidivism. Learn more about the jail diversion efforts online.

This study has concluded. 

  • Results from the Redefining Community Safety Study for Each County

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    CLOSED: This discussion has concluded.

    Participants in the Public Safety Study - renamed the "Redefining Community Safety" study - in Missoula County expressed safety concerns about housing and the visibility of the unhoused population, rising rates of assaults, increases in drug prevalence and use, particularly fentanyl and methamphetamine, and the ongoing concerns about domestic violence and Missing and Murdered Indigenous People.

    In Mecklenburg and St. Louis Counties, respondents referenced gun violence and issues related to the police as major safety concerns in their communities.

    Researchers also conducted a media analysis in the three counties to discover how local media reported on crime and the legal system. These counties are currently working on interventions around crime and community safety funded, in part, through the Safety and Justice Challenge.

    From this survey, researchers and criminal justice experts provided a series of recommendations on how local communities can reimagine what safety looks like. These recommendations include:

    • Making information on community safety readily available, so that it can be used by a variety of stakeholders. All three counties have ongoing data collection efforts that can measure various components of community safety identified in this study. Creating a dashboard or website that brings together these data and makes them easily accessible can empower communities to achieve real community safety.
    • Using more precise language. Framing conversations around “community safety" instead of "public safety" may help people think more expansively about what safety looks like and how to achieve this goal. Redefining community safety in this way has the potential to reveal the broader historical forces that create and sustain inequalities in safety.
    • Educating people on what a more inclusive and equitable vision of safety can look like. While low rates of violence and feeling secure are key components of community safety, it is much more than that. There are a range of possibilities that move beyond a focus on crime statistics.
    • Identifying local priorities and structuring future action steps using the Community Safety Concept Map that was generated from this research. This map is designed to be a dynamic tool to engender discussions about safety and to ensure that local stakeholders consider a more holistic perspective.

    Through this study, we hope to make information on community safety readily available for a variety of stakeholders. Community outreach-based studies enable organizations to explore ongoing data collection, improved community engagement, use of language which reflects the nuanced experiences of community members, opportunities for education and inclusion, and identifying local priorities and future action steps generated from this research.

  • Redefining Community Safety Survey

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    CLOSED: This discussion has concluded.

    This survey contained questions about community safety priorities, as well as questions about demographics and prior experiences. Responses will be used to develop new ways to define and measure public safety that reflects the voices of a broad range of individuals living or working in Missoula County. The survey closed Saturday, July 15. A report will follow, likely in October, so stay tuned for future engagement opportunities!



  • Public Safety Survey

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    CLOSED: This survey is now closed.

    This survey is now closed.

    The Missoula County Community Justice Department sought public input in October for a survey about public safety. The department will use responses to the survey to inform new definitions and measurements of public safety in Missoula County. People 18 or older who live or work in Missoula County were invited to participate in the study by taking a five-minute survey. The survey closed Friday, Oct. 7.


    In addition to Missoula County, researchers at the University of Missouri, St. Louis, worked with Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, and St. Louis County, Missouri, to conduct the study. Researchers will use the study to help develop and sustain innovative methods to make communities across the country safer.

    The survey had three goals:

    • Identify and describe local trends in public safety

    • Document current understandings of safety and identify what crimes are causing the biggest disruptions locally

    • Gather information from a broad range of stakeholders to develop an inclusive and community-driven definition and measurements of public safety

    This project is funded by a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Safety & Justice Challenge Research Consortium. The Safety & Justice Challenge is a national initiative to safely reduce jail populations. The Safety & Justice Challenge examines the efficiency of justice system processes and offers pretrial and reentry programming and services based on local data and evidence-based screening methods. Missoula County is one of the 57 cities, counties and states participating in the consortium network. Since 2017, the county has received $1.4 million in grant funds from the MacArthur Foundation to reduce the jail population and recidivism. Learn more about the jail diversion efforts online.

    If you have been involved in the criminal justice system at some point in your life and you wish to stay involved in this study, please contact Safety and Justice Challenge Coordinator Chelsea Wittmann at cwittmann@missoulacounty.us or 406-258-3838. The Community Justice Department is seeking individuals who have been involved in the criminal justice system to help with the next step of this study, and you may be compensated for your help.

    And for all others, stay tuned! The Community Justice Department will issue a second survey for this study that we will need your input on. Afterwards, the Community Justice Department will publish a report of the findings from this study.