Violent crime is on the rise, and not just in America's major cities. We've seen the violent rioting and looting spread to the suburbs in places like Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Montana is also seeing an increase in violent crime, according to Montana's US Attorney Kurt Alme. He joined us recently on the radio, and three things in particular stood out to me. First, he says the rise in violent crime is directly associated with the COVID-19 shutdowns and restrictions that have been in place since March. Second, he also talked about the shakeup in the meth markets and how the Mexican drug cartels are fueling the violence. And third, he says we need to do a better job of moving convicted offenders out of our county jails, and move them into the state prison system.

We have the full audio posted below so you can listen to entire conversation with Kurt Alme, along with some of the phone calls we received with caller questions and comments. I would highly encourage you to listen to what Alme has to say about the COVID-19 shutdowns and restrictions and the increase in crime.

I also want to point out what he had to say about the overcrowding of our jails and county detention facilities. This overloading is placing a heavy burden on our local law enforcement, and also making it harder for them to contain the spread of COVID-19 within the facilities. This is why the State of Montana needs to do a better job of moving convicted inmates into the prison system, instead of bogging down our local law enforcement officers.

He contrasted that with the federal system where federal prosecutors and US Marshals are doing a very good job in quickly moving these inmates out of the county jails and into the federal system.

Click below for the full audio.

 

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