Great Falls adds downtown officer for summer safety push

Great Falls, Mont. — Great Falls police launches a summer safety effort downtown by adding a dedicated officer for the first time in about five years.

People in Great Falls can expect to see more officers across the city, with extra attention downtown. That includes officers in marked and unmarked vehicles.

Police said the added focus came as downtown Great Falls got busier during the summer months. The department assigned Senior Officer Logan Reiman to the downtown role as part of the initiative.

Reiman described why that visibility mattered as activity picked up downtown.

"Obviously, summer time in Montana is the most beautiful time of the year. Especially in our downtown area. So, there’s a ton of activities down here, a ton of people down here and it’s important that everyone is safe and feels welcome downtown," said Reiman.

Patrol Captain Doug Otto said assigning Reiman to the position was an important step for businesses and the broader community. He said the department had previously faced staffing shortages that made it harder to cover downtown.

Otto explained why the department wanted a dedicated focus in the city center.

"Downtown is the life blood for any community. This has to be the focus that we have to make sure that we have someone dedicated to working on the problems that will come up downtown," said Otto.

Otto also said crime had been rising in some categories last year.

"The crime was slightly up ticking last year. We can see the numbers just creeping up on thefts, disorderly things along those lines," said Otto.

Around this time last year, police said downtown calls for service were less than 200. As summer continued, that total climbed to more than 2,000 calls during the second half of 2025.

Police said calls for service were trending upward again this year.

Downtown Great Falls Business Improvement Executive Director Kellie Pierce said the added patrols could help people feel safer, including in parking garages.

"It really makes a difference to know that you can walk down the street and feel safe and worry about parking in the parking garage because they will be patrolling the parking garages as well. So, it really adds that element of security and feeling safe downtown which was what we were aiming for," said Pierce.