Missoula public safety leaders review 2025 stats, staffing gaps and cautious tech plans

Missoula County Sheriff Jeremiah Peterson, Missoula Police Chief Mike Collier and Missoula Fire Chief Lonnie Rasch summarized 2025 operations and sketched priorities for 2026 at a City Club Missoula forum on frontline public safety.

Sheriff Jeremiah Peterson said the sheriff’s office comprises about 60 sworn deputies, 122 detention officers and roughly 25 civilian staff — “a little over 200 employees” — and that patrol deputies handled about 27,000 calls for service last year, roughly 4,500 more than the prior year. He said the county’s detention facility on Mullen Road (capacity cited in the forum) booked about 4,300 people last year and the coroner’s office handled roughly 367 calls. Peterson said the office is focusing its 2026 strategic plan on controlling street crime, professional development and department efficiency,…