Yellowstone County

The Detention Center

Yellowstone County Detention Facility

• Operated byYellowstone County Sheriff's Office
• Address3165 King Avenue East, Billings, MT
• OpenedDedicated August 21, 1987, on a ten-acre site, replacing the prior 8th-floor courthouse jail after a 1981 ACLU suit
• Original capacity174 inmates at opening (1987); expanded by ~100 dormitory-style beds in 1996-97
• Current rated capacity434 inmates (per the county's Jail Expansion Project FAQ/flyer)
• Current daily populationMore than 600 on average — about 38-50% over rated capacity, per the county's own Jail Expansion Project materials
• Model"Direct Supervision" — described by the county as the first and, as of the source checked, only true Direct Supervision jail in Montana
• FY2026 Detention Center budget$11,023,277 (Sheriff Fund — Detention Center), per the county's Final FY26 Public Safety budget PDF; Detention Maintenance separately budgeted at $276,210
• Holds other agencies' inmatesThe county's own FY26 Public Safety budget document states: "The facility often holds inmates (both men and women) for other governmental entities and charges a fee per inmate day" — no specific dollar rate is published

Source: Yellowstone County, MT · checked 2026-08-24

• ✓The jail is named
• ✓Who is in custody
• ✓Beds and daily population
• ✓What it costs taxpayers
• ✗Deaths in custody — not published
• ✗PREA audits — not published
• ✗Independent inspection — not published
• ✓Who else it holds, and for how much
• ✗How to post bond — not published
• ✗Phone, video and commissary rates — not published

This rates disclosure, not conduct — what Yellowstone County publishes about a jail its taxpayers own, checked 2026-08-24. Nothing here says the jail is run well or badly. Every mark moves the moment the county posts the document.

The Building

You paid for it. Here is what the record says it cost.

• Year built1987
• Original costNot found
• Paid for by1980s construction funding source not found; the pending 2026 expansion would be funded by a voter-approved general obligation bond ($175M, 20-year term) plus a permanent operations levy ($20M)
• Beds434 (current rated capacity, up from 174 at opening in 1987); a 332-bed expansion is on the November 3, 2026 ballot

The Sheriff

Sheriff Mike Linder

• TitleSheriff/Coroner
• Party/termRepublican; won the November 2022 general election (per official county election results); term runs through early 2027
• How the office is filledElected
• Runs the jailYes — Yellowstone County Detention Facility, operated by the Sheriff's Office

Source: Yellowstone County, MT — 2022 General Election Results · checked 2026-08-24

The Judges

Montana district court judges and justices of the peace/city judges are elected. The Justice of the Peace typically sets bail at first appearance. Both are state judicial officers under the Montana judicial branch (MCA Title 3), not county officials.

Source: the state judiciary · checked 2026-08-24

The County Commissioners

They pay for the jail. The sheriff runs it.

• What they controlThe detention budget, the building itself, and the agreements that let other agencies rent its beds.
• What they don'tDay-to-day operations. The sheriff is separately elected and answers to voters, not to the board.
• The boardBoard of County Commissioners →
• Where the jail money is decidedAgendas and minutes →