Full Notification

The City of Montpelier Police Department is pleased to announce they have partnered with Bright Tomorrows to open a satellite office in downtown Montpelier. The partnership with Bright Tomorrows helped obtain funding from the National Children’s Alliance.

Bright Tomorrows Child Advocacy Center in Pocatello provides a child-friendly environment where child victims of sexual assault can meet with investigators and counselors. Bright Tomorrows has staff trained in the specialized field of child forensic interviewing.

Greg Butler, Montpelier’s chief of police said the idea for the partnership came after he went to Pocatello investigating a sexual assault case where he met the director of Bright Tomorrows, Curtis Peterson. “I told Curtis about the difficulty it places on the victims to make the two hour drive up to Pocatello, go through the interview, and drive another two hours back. Curtis agreed and we put the wheels in motion.”

Going to Pocatello was also a burden on Montpelier’s small police force. It takes an officer off shift for entire day to conduct one interview, costing the department overtime to cover the shift. Having a satellite office in Montpelier is better for the victims and will save manpower and money said Butler.

“It’s wonderful,” said Curtis Peterson. “I couldn’t imagine being a child who has been victimized and then having to drive two hours to Pocatello not knowing what’s going on.”

We also owe a huge thanks to the Bear Lake Hospital Foundation for their donation of $5,000 for recording equipment, Bear Lake Memorial Hospital for the office space, and to Sean Tobler who shared the vision with us to get this up and going, said Chief Butler.

We hope to have the office up and running in a few months said Butler. We have also offered these services to all the surrounding law enforcement agencies.