FBI arrest data · 2024
Montana Arrests
29,077 arrests were reported by 106 Montana law-enforcement agencies in 2024. The most common charge was all other offenses (exc. traffic) (6,837); 11.8% of arrests were of juveniles.
Montana arrests by offense
| Offense | Arrests | Share |
|---|---|---|
| All other offenses (exc. traffic) | 6,837 | 23.5% |
| Simple assault | 4,731 | 16.3% |
| Driving under the influence | 4,271 | 14.7% |
| Larceny-theft | 3,560 | 12.2% |
| Disorderly conduct | 2,756 | 9.5% |
| Aggravated assault | 1,760 | 6.1% |
| Drug abuse violations | 1,594 | 5.5% |
| Liquor law violations | 976 | 3.4% |
| Vandalism | 843 | 2.9% |
| Burglary | 356 | 1.2% |
| Motor vehicle theft | 284 | 1.0% |
| Offenses against family & children | 237 | 0.8% |
| Sex offenses (exc. rape & prostitution) | 142 | 0.5% |
| Robbery | 119 | 0.4% |
| Stolen property (buy/receive/possess) | 107 | 0.4% |
| Fraud | 102 | 0.4% |
| Weapons (carrying, possessing) | 76 | 0.3% |
| Rape | 73 | 0.3% |
| Forgery & counterfeiting | 65 | 0.2% |
| Curfew & loitering | 56 | 0.2% |
| Arson | 46 | 0.2% |
| Murder & nonnegligent manslaughter | 32 | 0.1% |
| Embezzlement | 28 | 0.1% |
| Prostitution & commercialized vice | 15 | 0.1% |
| Vagrancy | 5 | 0.0% |
| Manslaughter by negligence | 4 | 0.0% |
| Human trafficking — servitude | 2 | 0.0% |
| Drunkenness | 0 | 0.0% |
| Gambling | 0 | 0.0% |
| Runaway | 0 | 0.0% |
| Human trafficking — commercial sex | 0 | 0.0% |
| Suspicion | 0 | 0.0% |
Who was arrested in Montana
By sex & age
Shares of all Montana arrests.
By race & ethnicity
Agencies report race and ethnicity separately from the age/sex counts, so shares below are of the 28,021 race entries reported (26,354 ethnicity entries) — a different universe than the total above, which it can undershoot or occasionally exceed.
| White | 18,670 | 66.6% |
| Black or African American | 791 | 2.8% |
| American Indian / Alaska Native | 8,309 | 29.7% |
| Asian / Pacific Islander | 251 | 0.9% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 1,358 | 5.2% |
Montana arrests by county
By the arresting agency's headquarters county — multi-jurisdiction agencies land in one county.
Largest agencies by reported arrests
| Agency | Type | County | Arrests |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billings Police Department | City | Yellowstone County | 3,962 |
| Missoula Police Department | City | Missoula County | 3,496 |
| Great Falls Police Department | City | Cascade County | 2,992 |
| Bozeman Police Department | City | Gallatin County | 1,452 |
| Helena Police Department | City | Lewis and Clark County | 1,294 |
| Kalispell Police Department | City | Flathead County | 1,108 |
| Silver Bow County Sheriff's Office | County | Silver Bow County | 1,079 |
| Blackfeet Agency | Tribal | Glacier County | 936 |
| Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office | County | Yellowstone County | 759 |
| Havre Police Department | City | Hill County | 718 |
| Ravalli County Sheriff's Office | County | Ravalli County | 694 |
| Cascade County Sheriff's Office | County | Cascade County | 629 |
| Gallatin County Sheriff's Office | County | Gallatin County | 570 |
| Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes | Tribal | Roosevelt County | 542 |
| Northern Cheyenne Agency | Tribal | Rosebud County | 521 |
| Flathead Tribal | Tribal | Lake County | 439 |
| Flathead County Sheriff's Office | County | Flathead County | 413 |
| Crow Agency | Tribal | Big Horn County | 343 |
| Lewis and Clark County Sheriff's Office | County | Lewis and Clark County | 342 |
| Missoula County Sheriff's Office | County | Missoula County | 341 |
| Polson Police Department | City | Lake County | 338 |
| Belgrade Police Department | City | Gallatin County | 337 |
| Cut Bank Police Department | City | Glacier County | 325 |
| Columbia Falls Police Department | City | Flathead County | 293 |
| Lake County Sheriff's Office | County | Lake County | 271 |
About this data
- Counts are arrests, not people. One person arrested twice counts twice; an arrest with several charges counts once, under the most serious charge.
- Reported agencies only. Figures cover the ~14,500 agencies in the FBI's 2024 Uniform Crime Reporting arrest (ASR) file — about 94–95% of the FBI's official national total, which additionally counts agencies that report only through NIBRS. Nothing here is estimated for non-reporting agencies, so totals slightly undercount and are not strictly comparable across areas with different reporting coverage.
- Location is the arresting agency's headquarters, not where the arrest happened. Multi-jurisdiction agencies (state police, sheriffs, transit police) concentrate in one county — county figures are approximate, and about 3% of arrests come from agencies that can't be placed in any county.
- Race and ethnicity are reported separately from the age/sex counts, and not for every arrest — race is reported for ≈95% of arrests, ethnicity for ≈81%. Shares here use those reported subtotals as denominators.
- No per-capita rates. Because reporting coverage varies by area, population-adjusted rates would mislead; we show counts only. Arrests measure enforcement activity, not crime rates.
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, 2024 Arrest (ASR) master file. pumsdata is independent and not affiliated with the FBI. How our data works.
Montana arrests — FAQ
How many arrests were made in Montana in 2024?+
29,077 arrests were reported to the FBI by 106 Montana law-enforcement agencies in 2024. Actual arrests are somewhat higher, since not every agency reports.
What is the most common arrest offense in Montana?+
All other offenses (exc. traffic) — 6,837 arrests, 23.5% of the state's reported total.
How many juveniles were arrested in Montana?+
3,436 of Montana's 2024 reported arrests (11.8%) were of juveniles under 18.
Where does this data come from?+
The FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program's 2024 arrest (ASR) master file. Counts are arrests, not unique persons, from reporting agencies only. pumsdata is independent and not affiliated with the FBI.