State prison officials say using prerelease centers, intensive supervision and treatment programs is helping slow the prison population growth, but crimes related to the use of methamphetamine could reverse that trend.
The Montana Corrections Department is scheduled to present its report on inmate population trends to the Corrections Advisory Council sometime next month.
In its report, the department says the population in Montana's prisons is increasing, but only slightly.
"It's growing just at about where we thought it would," said Joe Williams, head of the Corrections Department's Centralized Services Division. "We're right at about 2.6 percent" growth per year.
That compares with 8 percent growth in 2002 and 5.7 percent growth in 2001.
The 1990s saw a huge expansion of the state prison system, with construction of three regional prisons in Great Falls, Missoula and Glendive and the private prison at Shelby.
The department no longer looks to expansion to manage its ever-growing caseload, said state Corrections Director Bill Slaughter.
Since 2000, the number of state prisoners in non-prison programs has increased from 700 to 900, while the number of people behind bars has increased from 2,200 to about 2,500 over the same period.
As law enforcement and the Legislature attempt to crack down on methamphetamine abuse and related crimes, corrections officials worry about the potential for a huge increase in prisoners, including many who are addicted to meth.
Slaughter said fallout from meth use is the unknown factor in his department's plans to manage the state prison population.
Federal money has been helping law enforcement catch drug traffickers and users, but there's been no corresponding help for prisoners who may need treatment, state officials say.
In the coming months, Montana corrections officials plan to look at a therapeutic-care program for convicted methamphetamine users in Wyoming.
The number of inmates at the women's prison in Billings has more than doubled since 2000, growing faster than any other population in the system.
Williams said methamphetamine is a big reason for the increase, with many female inmates coming to the prison as addicts who committed crimes to support their habit.