Fighting Crime in Gallatin County
Cromwell Delivers on 2022 Campaign Promises
Hold Offenders Accountable
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In my first term, I prioritized serious, high-stakes offenses, which take more time and resources due to complexity. In three years, my team has prosecuted 3,058 felonies and 4,185 misdemeanors.
Upon taking office, I discovered over 600 unprosecuted felony cases dating back 15 years. Of the 113 unprosecuted sexual assault cases, 52 involved children. I spearheaded an unprecedented Task Force and, over 6 months, met with victims personally and filed felony charges in all appropriate cases not barred by the statute of limitations. The workload of this staggering, historical backlog—now 100% cleared— equaled more than a year’s worth of felony cases.
To take on current felonies I enacted specialized triage teams, including a Major Crimes Team, dedicated to prosecuting the most heinous offenses against our community members.
I forged a co-counseling partnership with the Prosecution Services Bureau at the Attorney General’s Office to work together on high-profile cases, including securing justice for Dustin Mitchell Kjersem.
As your County Attorney I will continue to prioritize felony prosecutions as I hold offenders accountable to justice.
Prevent Homicide & Domestic Violence
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In my first term, I have implemented evidence-based prevention measures for domestic violence and bolstered prosecutions to shut down homicide in our community.
I partnered with the United States Attorney’s Office in a pilot program to federally prosecute domestic violence cases when a firearm—which makes a fatality 5x more likely—is involved. Federal prosecution moves quicker (6 months versus 2 years at the county level) and carries serious consequences, swiftly protecting victims and holding dangerous offenders accountable.
To combat alarming misconceptions around the serious crime of strangulation, my office has partnered with a physician from Bozeman Health who serves as an expert witness to every strangulation charge we prosecute.
As your County Attorney, I am actively working with law enforcement partners through the multi-jurisdictional Domestic Violence Response Team (DVRT) to develop a strangulation protocol to screen for and document strangulation injuries before they lead to murder.
Protect Crime Victims
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In my first term, I restructured my office to closely integrate prosecutors, Victim Advocates, and Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA/GAL) to streamline case management in support of victims.
To ensure we operate as a gold standard leader in public safety, my fierce team of Victim Advocates—who uphold the rights of victims at every stage of the judicial process—now receive specialized trainings in sensitive criminal matters regarding Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Forensic Child Interviewing, and Strangulation.
My office collaborated with law enforcement and HAVEN MT to train for—and implement—the APRAIS model, a cutting-edge screening tool for domestic violence offenders at arrest (and initial court appearances) to assess risk in high-lethality cases. This ensures victim safety throughout the entire legal process.
My Victim Services Director and I worked with architects to design a trauma-informed office layout, where victims and their families can meet safely and comfortably with prosecutors and law enforcement.
As County Attorney, I will continue to work every day to ensure that survivors and their families are protected from further harm, threats, and harassment by offenders, and that their experience within the judicial system is marked by dignity, respect, and fairness.
Support Mental Health
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In my first term, I built strong, expansive partnerships between our justice system and community health providers to stabilize those in mental health crisis.
I worked closely with the Gallatin Behavioral Health Coalition to create a new 90-day Community Commitment Program, an Assisted Outpatient Treatment program designed to link those in mental health crisis (such as a suicide attempt) with local treatment and continuity of care. Previously, people arrested due to a mental health crisis would go to the ER, to jail, or were handcuffed and transported to the State Hospital over 100 miles away in Warm Springs.
In September 2024, Gallatin County was awarded a $1.5 million federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) grant to develop this Assisted Outpatient Treatment program.
Instead of folks in mental health crisis cycling through brief stabilization and release without a long-term plan, the 90-day Community Commitment program reduces jail stays and hospitalizations, and limits reliance on Warm Springs, all while saving taxpayer dollars and delivering better outcomes for folks involved.
As your County Attorney, I will continue strengthening local partnerships with wrap-around services forged in our caring community to treat mental health crises with compassion, accountability, and a long-term view for both individuals and Gallatin County.
Defend Public Safety
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In my first term, I transformed the County Attorney’s office from a “skeleton crew” (when my term began our office only had 6 attorneys and was 15% staffed) into a fully-staffed, well-trained team by hiring and training over 40 new attorneys, Victim Advocates, and support staff.
I secured competitive salaries from the County Commission for my team to retain them and ensure they are fairly compensated for their tough jobs.
Each attorney in my office now completes specialized courses focusing on courtroom skills, sensitive criminal matters such as Strangulation, Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, and Forensic Interviewing, and Pretrial, Bond, and Bail Best Practices.
Though our current workload still requires 6 more attorneys, 1 Victim Advocate, 1 Community Liaison and 1 Criminal Investigator to bring cases to safe levels, improved staffing and training has brought caseloads down from 3-4 times the safe national standard when I took office, to 2 times the national standard.
As your County Attorney, I will continue to advocate for the additional positions and resources required to ensure my team has the tools, time, and support to protect our children, deliver justice to victims, and keep our community safe.
Connect with Communities
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In my first term, I ensured that my office engaged with each unique community we serve: public safety concerns of West Yellowstone are different from those in Belgrade, and different again from those in Three Forks or Bozeman.
I designated specific prosecutors and Victim Advocates to run point with each of our 10 law enforcement agency partners. They listen to concerns, identify trends, and bring real-time feedback back to our team so we can respond in support of our law enforcement partners in their difficult work.
All attorneys now participate in collaborative community teams, including the Sexual Assault Response Team (SART), the Domestic Violence Response Team (DVRT), the Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT), the Drug Treatment Court, and the Felony DUI Treatment Court. These partnerships ensure that we are coordinating closely with law enforcement, service providers, judges, and other stakeholders in handling sensitive and high-impact cases.
My leadership team and I meet quarterly with the Detention Center, Bozeman Police Department leadership, and Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office leadership to ensure we are sharing information and working together as one team focused on public safety.
These structured, ongoing partnerships strengthen communication, improve case coordination, and ensure that the County Attorney’s Office remains accessible and responsive to every community in Gallatin County.
As your County Attorney, I remain committed to this hands-on, collaborative approach so that every community knows its voice is heard and its safety is a priority.
Establish Transparency
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In my first term, I led our office with transparency and used data to guide effective, fair policy.
Since 2024, our office has tracked more than 100 data markers related to our cases. These markers include race and gender of both victims and defendants, bail amounts and whether bail was reduced during the life of a case, how long cases take to resolve, whether charges were amended, and whether defendants plead as charged. This level of detail allows us to look carefully at patterns and outcomes across our entire legal system.
Through my efforts our office was selected by Prosecutorial Performance Indicators (PPI) to measure and analyze our data. Through PPI, statisticians at Loyola University in Chicago are conducting an independent review to identify trends we need to understand from a policy perspective. Their work will help determine whether changes are needed to eliminate racial, disability, or poverty-based disparities and to strengthen fairness in our system.
Once the analysis is complete and published, the public will have a clear, accessible view of what is happening in our community and in my office. The data will also provide policymakers with the information they need to make informed decisions.
Prosecutors in Montana are not required to publicly share data about charging decisions, plea agreements, or sentencing outcomes. I believe this should change. As your County Attorney, I am committed to continuing this work so that our policies are driven by facts, fairness, and accountability to the community we serve.
Redirect Taxpayer Dollars
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In my first term I transformed the Gallatin County Attorney’s Office from a paper-based to an electronic system.
We transitioned to a fully electronic system misdemeanor cases and are nearly paperless for felonies. This modernization required scanning all past case documents, which has saved taxpayers $30,621 per year in printing and storage costs.
I installed secure Aircards in our computers to ensure connectivity in court.
I shifted to 100% e-filing with Justice Court, District Courts, and Youth Court.
I successfully implemented a new online law-enforcement portal across ten law enforcement agencies, so they can electronically request prosecution, upload discovery, and track a case’s progress. Electronic integration with law enforcement partners exponentially expedites prosecution and more quickly addresses victims needs, ultimately ensuring swifter justice.
Law enforcement agencies now using the portal include the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office, the Bozeman Police Department, the Belgrade Police Department, the MSU Police Department, the West Yellowstone Police Department, the Manhattan Police Department, Montana Highway Patrol, the Gallatin County Airport Authority, the Montana Department of Transportation, and Montana Fish, Wildlife, & Parks.
As County Attorney I will continue to streamline our shared processes, saving time and taxpayer dollars.
Safeguard Privacy
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In my first term, I stood up to protect your fundamental freedoms: public safety through due process and upholding the U.S. and Montana Constitutional rights to privacy.
When the Gallatin County Commission and Sheriff explored the option to house non-local immigrants detained by federal authorities in our county jail, I carefully reviewed their proposal and issued a formal legal opinion: I addressed constitutional concerns of due process and potential legal and financial liability the county could face if it entered into an agreement to detain non-local immigrants for the federal government. I made clear my position that that our county resources are best focused on local public safety responsibilities and that we should avoid unnecessary exposure to risk and liability.
I recently cross-trained (at personal expense and time) with prosecutors working on issues involving immigration and law enforcement: my goal was to better understand how local prosecutors can ensure that federal agents, like any law enforcement officer, are held accountable if they violate the law. Accountability protects the integrity of good officers and strengthens public trust.
In addition, I have met with all of our local law enforcement leadership to review immigration-related policies and ensure that standards and protocols are aligned across Gallatin County. Clear, consistent policies protect public safety while also safeguarding individual privacy rights. People must feel safe reporting crimes, cooperating with investigations, and seeking help without fear that their personal information will be misused.
As your County Attorney, I remain committed to protecting constitutional rights, defending privacy, and ensuring that our community is and feels safe. Public safety and civil liberties are not competing values. They are both essential to a just and secure Gallatin County.
We have gotten a lot done but there is still more to do—and I’m running to keep fighting for you.
Over the past three years as your County Attorney, I rolled up my sleeves to turn my commitments from 2022 into real results for our shared community. From defending public safety and protecting victims of violent crime, to improving mental health support, enhancing transparency, connecting with our unique communities, partnering to create innovative programs—like federal domestic violence prosecution, the PIVOT Diversion Program and the Community Commitment Assisted Outpatient Treatment program—I have led with action.
Together we moved Gallatin County forward, which proves that tough goals fueled by public service, Montana grit, and teamwork can ignite powerful change. I’m proud of the work that we’ve done—but we’ve still got more to do: to hold offenders accountable, protect victims, defend public safety, and stand up for the rule of law safeguarded by our U.S. and Montana Constitutions.
Gallatin County Attorney's Office 2024-25 Public Safety Report
2026 Campaign Vision
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SHUT DOWN HOMICIDE
Violence against women is a major public health crisis.
In recent years, both the Gallatin County Attorney’s Office and law enforcement have noted an uptick in the crime of strangulation, a misunderstood and lethal form of intimate partner violence: victims of nonfatal strangulation are 750% more likely to be murdered by that partner in the future.
As your County Attorney I will actively work with HAVEN and law enforcement partners to develop and implement a strangulation protocol to screen for and document strangulation injuries before they escalate into murder.
I take violence against women seriously.
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SUPPORT LAW ENFORCEMENT
Within law enforcement, the County Attorney’s role is one of both support and accountability (like in the case of coroner’s inquests).
In addition to officers having 24/7 on-call access to my office, I am in regular communication with our law enforcement partners, including the Detention Center, BPD, and Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office, to coordinate seamless protection of our citizens. My office’s new 10-agency electronic portal expedites law enforcement requests for prosecution, their upload of discovery, and case processing.
As your County Attorney I remain committed to a hands-on approach so that each law enforcement partner knows their difficult work is supported and the communities they serve and protect are safe.
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STRENGTHEN PUBLIC SAFETY
My team and I deliver justice to victims while protecting them from further harm caused by dangerous offenders. Since my term began we have prosecuted 3,058 felonies and 4,185 misdemeanors.
In these 3 years, I transformed the County Attorney’s office from a 15% staffed “skeleton crew” with only 6 attorneys, to an effective team of 40 attorneys, Victim Advocates, support staff, and interns—successfully bringing caseloads down from 3-4 times the national standard, to double.
As your County Attorney I will continue to advocate before the Gallatin County Commission for the workforce required to match the escalating needs of our growing community: 6 Attorneys, 1 Victim Advocate, 1 Community Liaison, and 1 Criminal Investigator.
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PROTECT FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS
Growing up in Montana and graduating from the University of Montana law school, I understand Montanans’ heightened right to privacy and due process safeguarded in the U.S. and Montana Constitutions.
Recently (at personal expense and time) I cross-trained with prosecutors working at the current nexus of immigration and federal law enforcement. It was clear that the standard for these interactions should be our state and local law enforcement officers, who adhere to a set of standards every day while protecting our communities.
As County Attorney I will stand my ground for privacy and due process safeguarded in our U.S. and Montana Constitutions—a ground I share with many across the state.
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ENGAGE MENTAL HEALTH
Our county is facing challenges related to the mental health of our citizens.
In my first term, I helped to launch a 90-day Community Commitment program, supported judge led-treatment courts, and established the pretrial PIVOT program to divert low-risk, first-time offenders (non-violent, non-sexual, non-DUI) to community supervision, treatment, and accountability, rather than jail.
As your County Attorney I will strengthen and support these programs and expand powerful and effective restorative justice solutions within our community.
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ESTABLISH TRANSPARENCY
Prosecutors in Montana are not required to publicly share data about charging decisions, plea agreements, or sentencing outcomes. This is wrong.
Since 2024, my office has tracked more than 100 data markers related to cases. Once our independent analysis is complete, I will launch a public dashboard to help eliminate racial, disability, and poverty bias from our justice system.
The previous administration’s tracking system was riddled with missing and inaccurate data. As your County Attorney I am committed to transparency so that my policies are driven by facts, fairness, and accountability to the community I protect and serve.