Missoula Police Report Continued Progress in DOJ Agreement [AUDIO] [DOCUMENT]

The Missoula Police Department has released the second progress report by the independent reviewer from the Department of Justice, Tom Tremblay.

The report outlines the department’s current compliance with the agreement between the City of Missoula and the U.S. Department of Justice. Police department Public Information Officer Travis Welsh said on Friday, that the department is actually ahead of schedule in several areas of the two-year agreement.

"All you have to do is look at the extra training that Captain Colyer has implemented, the improvements we've made in our facility here for meeting with sexual assault victims, and that sense of putting the victims first and dealing with them in a way that makes them comfortable and lets them know that we're on their side and we're trying to work for them," Welsh said. "That's where we're actually ahead of schedule, but those ideas originated long before the Department of Justice expressed concern."

Welsh said the department is about half way through its two year agreement with the DOJ.

"It's a two-year agreement and we've just completed the first year," he said. "What we're focusing on now is that we have a safety audit coming up along with a community survey, and those will be completed at the end of the year. We're looking forward to getting those completed and getting that community feedback we're seeking."

Welsh said the point of the agreement is continued improvement even beyond the two-year agreement with the federal government.

"What our plan is right now is that when things are working well, we want to continue those activities, whether of not someone is sticking around to watch after the two year period is over."

Missoula Police Department Public Information Officer Travis Welsh