Billings Office:

111 North 30th Suite 218, Billings, MT 59101

Phone: (406)245-6106

Staff:

Lead Organizer:
Eran Thompson
ethompson@mtpaction.org

Community Organizer: Crystal Berg
cberg@mtpaction.org

MPA has recently achieved a major campaign victory by establishing the Billings Community Police Advisory Board! For more information, please contact the Billings Office!

Billings Justice4All Campaign:

To Protect & Serve?

In two Billings neighborhoods, residents live very different lives. In the Heights, higher income residents live in bigger houses, on wide, clean, quiet streets. Residents of the heights feel protected by their police department, secure in the belief that the officers are there to serve and protect them. On the other side of the railroad tracks, lower income residents of the Southside have no such assurances. Their neighborhood is rundown and neglected by the city. To make matters worse, they cannot rest easy in the knowledge that Billings police officers will protect them from the crime in their neighborhoods or violence in their homes. Instead, Southside residents fear the police officers themselves.

In recent years, the Billings Police Department and its leadership have been in the news with reports of accusations of police brutality and misconduct. A study conducted by Montana Peoples Action reveals the deeper problems within the police department that lead to distrust and fear among residents of certain parts of the city.

The study has found that in the Southside neighborhood, the Police Department is known for racial profiling and discrimination, gender discrimination, mistreatment of domestic violence victims, and demeaning treatment of low income residents. Surveys comparing the sentiments of residents of the Southside uncover two side of the Billings Police Department- one side that serves and protects the wealthier white residents of the city, another that ignores or abuses their poorer neighbors and people of color.

Policing practices reflect the values of a community. While the city pours millions of dollars into revitalizing the downtown area, it ignores the Southside neighborhood. With a new administration, the Billings Police Department has an opportunity to redesign the Departments procedures, policies, and training practices to reflect the values of a city that should not be divided by income or race. The Department can, with these reforms, truly serve and protect the whole community

Citizens Bill of Rights