Montana § 44-2-601 - Notification Of Escape Or Release From Confinement

§ 44-2-601. Notification Of Escape Or Release From Confinement

Notification of escape or release from confinement. (1) The notice required by subsection (2) must be given if: (a) a person committed to a hospital or mental health facility under Title 46, chapter 14, escapes or is released from confinement; (b) a person confined in an institution other than a jail pending or during trial for a criminal offense involving the use or threat of physical force or violence or confined in a prison or other state institution after conviction of a criminal offense involving the use or threat of physical force or violence escapes or is released from confinement; or (c) a person confined in a jail pending or during trial for a criminal offense involving the use or threat of physical force or violence or confined in a jail after conviction of a criminal offense involving the use or threat of physical force or violence escapes from confinement. (2) If a person referred to in subsection (1) escapes or is released from confinement, the institution in which the person was confined shall notify: (a) the sheriff or other law enforcement officials in the county in which the offense occurred; (b) the sheriff or other law enforcement officials in the county or counties, if known, in which a victim or the victims of the offense reside at the time of the escape or release; (c) the sheriff or other law enforcement officials in the county, if known, in which the person intends to reside upon leaving confinement; (d) the sheriff or other law enforcement officials in the county in which the jail, prison, hospital, mental health facility, or other institution from which the person escaped or was released is located; (e) a victim of the offense who has requested notification in the event of an escape or a release of the person; and (f) a court that has requested that it be notified in the event of an escape or a release of the person. (3) The department shall adopt a methodology for notifying the individuals and entities listed in subsection (2). The methodology must take into account the public safety concerns related to escape. Notification concerning a pending release must be made prior to the release.