Until this week the Missoula County Sheriff's office hadn't had an increase in sworn officers in 30 years.
That changed today with the swearing-in of four new deputies, raising the department's total number of deputies to 51.
Sheriff's spokeswoman Brenda Bassett says four new staffers may not sound like a lot, but will make a world of difference for the department.
"A lot of times we have a skeleton crew. Being able to add these four additional deputies will make it so we have that one extra person on patrol. If our guys or gals are out on a call, they'll have backup and they'll have somebody that can go to the calls that they need to be on. It's huge for our department and we're just really excited because it hasn't happened in three decades, so it's great."
One of the newly hired deputies will be dedicated to the Seeley Lake area for patrol. This marks the first time an additional patrolman will be added to that part of Missoula County.
