Here we go again, another violent crime committed by a drunk transient on the streets of downtown Billings.  The latest incident is especially gruesome.  Yesterday, a man walking down the alley behind the Alberta Bair Theater was pulled into a dumpster and sexually assaulted by an intoxication transient.

When passers by called the police, they found the perpetrator passed out in the alley with his pants and underwear down by his ankles.  Amazingly, this was the 48th time the transient has had a run in with the law.  Yet, he'll be back on the streets before you know it.

Why?  Because we don't have enough space in our city and country jail to keep him behind bars.  We heard it straight from the Chief of Police a few weeks ago.  Our jails just aren't big enough.  The cops would love to lock these people up, but their hands are tied.

Sadly, this is a problem that's not going away.  It will continue to get worse until we find a way to get these transients off the streets. And giving them free meals isn't helping.  If our city can afford to build new libraries and baseball fields, then perhaps we should look into building more jails.

More From Cat Country 102.9