Montana Police Chief Reveals Shocking Reason Hit TV Series Yellowstone Devastated His County
The hit TV series Yellowstone has been causing the police chief of Bozeman, Montana, a lot of headaches since the series premiered.
Since its release in 2018, the series about a Montana family protecting their ranch near Yellowstone National Park has been critically acclaimed and has millions of fans.
That’s why some decided to make the show a reality and move it to the region.
Bozeman Police Chief Jim Velkamp told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview how the town is struggling with a rapidly growing population.
The most devastating consequence of the series’ global success has been the city’s rising crime rate, he said.
“I think for us, and specifically for the city of Bozeman, our biggest challenge is the growth and the challenges that come with that growth,” Velkamp said.
And that show, the police chief says, has directly led to an increase in crime in the region and has added even more work to the department’s already full schedule.
Jim Veltkamp, Bozeman Police Chief, told DailyMail.com that the biggest problem facing the department is the city’s rapid growth, which has led to increased crime. He partly blamed the hit series Yellowstone for the fact that so many people have moved to the city
“Our city has grown so fast,” he continued. “Bozeman wasn’t literally on the map, now it’s a familiar place.”
He described how Bozeman was not on maps as a child because it was so small and unknown. He said he remembered not even being able to find his city on the world atlas.
Bozeman’s population has grown by 50 percent since 2014, prompting more bumper stickers that read “Montana is full.”
Velkamp said the boom was fueled by Yellowstone, residents moving from Democratic-led states during the COVID pandemic and the implementation of work-from-home policies.
Still, he doesn’t blame all of his growth-related crime problems on the popular TV series.
“I can’t blame any one factor, I certainly can’t blame it all on the Yellowstone series, but we hear it all the time,” he said.
Kevin Costner as John Dutton, Brecken Merrill as Tate Dutton in the TV show ‘Yellowstone’ season one in 2018. The series spotlights a ranching family in Montana as they battle others who encroach on their land
The show beautifully captures the backward lifestyle of Montanans living in rural communities
Velkamp told DailyMail.com that there have been several candidates who have turned themselves in to the Bozeman Police Department after watching the show
“People say, ‘Oh Bozeman, I saw Yellowstone.’”
Many of those people want to join his chapter to get closer to the scenic beauty seen in the show.
“We even hear from police candidates. They came to Bozeman after watching the show Yellowstone and thought, ‘Wow, that’s a pretty cool place,’ … and they asked if they could work here.”
But the city’s rising crime rate should be taken with a grain of salt, the police chief says.
“The fact that our population is growing so fast means that crime rates are also increasing rapidly.”
“We simply need more capacity and bandwidth to keep up with the number of crimes, even though the ratio, our crime rate, remains the same and is only increasing slowly.”
He said crime has not increased disproportionately to the city’s growth, but that more residents also mean more crime – and therefore higher expectations.
Bozeman police struggle to keep pace with city’s growth
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“With growth comes all kinds of problems that people expect from Bozeman.”
The chief said he’s been getting complaints from Bozeman residents who’ve lived in the city for 40 years and from people who’ve only been there for four months, who are angry about the rapid changes in the city.
“Everyone seems to think that Bozeman is changing faster than they would like.”
The most common complaint from residents is not about the increase in serious crime, but about traffic.
“They don’t see the increasing human trafficking that’s happening in the city,” Velkamp said of Bozeman residents.
The chief said the department is doing the best it can with the funds it has to handle the increased requests from residents
Aerial view of downtown Bozeman, Montana in the summer
“A lot of them don’t see that there is more fentanyl available in the city.”
“But they do see people running red lights, so that’s their biggest problem.”
Velkamp gave his opinion on the recent population explosion in a humorous way.
“There’s a certain tradition and a certain image of Montana,” he said, but many leave after a short time in the area. He added, “They can’t stand the cold.”