As crime concerns have risen in downtown Great Falls, the city’s police department is taking extra steps to ensure the area remains safe and welcoming this summer. That includes pulling School Resource Officers (SROs) while school is out and putting them on patrol.
Sgt Cunningham and Det Stadel discuss the program - watch:
The move is part of the Downtown Summer Safety Initiative, a new coordinated downtown safety effort with several partners, including the Business Improvement District, Downtown Association, Municipal Court, City Attorney’s Office, and the Cascade County Sheriff’s Office to address a growing number of incidents such as trespassing, theft, public intoxication, and disorderly conduct.
Sergeant Katie Cunningham typically supervises the SRO team, and is now part of the increased patrols. She says, “It’s come to our attention through several business owners and people who live or work downtown that it’s becoming an unsafe place for them. They feel like they can’t bring their families down here.”
During the school year, SROs are assigned to middle and high schools, handling everything from campus threats and disputes to student mentorship and early intervention. They also work closely with youth through diversion programs that aim to correct behavior without pushing kids into the criminal justice system.
Detective Shayne Stadel is usually the School Resource Officer for East Middle School. Now doing summer patrols, he says, “Just kind of getting back to being able to push patrol cars and get back to working the streets and getting to do traffic stops and talk to people out and about has been a fun change of pace because I do miss it all the time.”
GFPD acknowledged that many of the behaviors being addressed, such as panhandling or public intoxication, can be tied to deeper issues like homelessness, addiction, and mental illness. Sgt. Cunningham says, “We know we have a lot of mental health crises in Great Falls, what we're focusing on is about criminal behavior. We're really trying to focus on making it a better place for everybody, including the transient behaviors. We want everyone to feel like they have a space here.”
The SROs are working alongside GFPD’s Directed Enforcement Team, a small, specialized unit that typically handles high-impact problems like nuisance properties, outstanding warrants, and traffic saturation patrols. Together, the units are conducting increased patrols on foot, and in marked and unmarked vehicles.
Great Falls PD says the increased patrols have already led to a shift in behavior downtown, and feedback from business owners and the community has been positive.
Det. Stadel says, “Talking to business owners, they noticed a huge change. They said that there weren't as many people hanging out causing issues downtown. Talking to community members, they were saying that they noticed less people hanging out and sleeping in doorways of their businesses.”
Police encourage residents and visitors to report concerns. Emergencies should go through 911, while non-urgent issues—like harassment, disorderly conduct, or non-violent theft—should be reported to the non-emergency line at 406-455-8599.
