The Department of Corrections has periodically heard urgings to place inmates in the Two Rivers Detention Center in Hardin, a facility built on speculation its cells would be needed.

The answer then is the same as it is now: We do not have the need.

Recent news stories about the Department of Corrections Advisory Council launched a new chorus of calls to put inmates in Two Rivers.

Two Rivers officials have repeatedly indicated an immediate need for a large number of inmates in order to open and operate their facility. We do not have an immediate need for cells to house a large number of inmates.

Slowing inmate growth

In 2007, Montana led the nation with a 3.9 percent decline in its prison population. Today, Montana's corrections system is experiencing the slowest growth in its prison population in nearly 20 years, thanks in large part to a series of innovative and effective treatment programs and other services offering alternatives to prison. Gov. Brian Schweitzer consistently has placed an emphasis on these methods for diverting offenders who are best served in other programs. In the juvenile system, our two secure facilities are operating about half of their capacity due to innovative re-entry programs for youth.

These results are not by accident. They reflect strong guidance from the governor and hard work on the part of Montana's corrections professionals.

The Hardin facility is not designed for long-term incarceration:

• Eighty percent of the Two Rivers facility is composed of pods capable of housing 8-24 inmates. This design doesn't meet security needs that demand one- or two-person cells required to properly manage inmates. In large groups, inmates are more likely to engage in violent behavior that threatens the safety of other inmates and staff, and poses a liability risk to the state of Montana.

• The facility has inadequate accommodations for rehabilitation programs.

• The facility would require extensive and costly remodeling to be "minimally acceptable for a safe and secure correctional operation," according to national correctional experts.

We aren't the only ones who find the facility doesn't fit their needs. At the request of the governor, other jurisdictions and states also have looked at the facility. The Gallatin County sheriff, the executive director of the Colorado Department of Corrections and the deputy director of the Wyoming Department of Corrections concluded they would not consider using the facility.

Decisions about placement of offenders are built upon sound correctional practices, the need for public and staff safety, offender rehabilitation and a commitment to spend taxpayer dollars wisely.

Avoiding prison expansion

Our desire is to avoid expansion of Montana's prisons. Every single day, correctional officers, probation and parole officers, case managers, therapists and counselors work hard to help offenders turn their lives around, reduce dependence on the corrections system and keep offenders out of prison.

While Two Rivers developers have put themselves in a difficult situation, no promises were ever made to them. State government's responsibility is not to fill empty jails, but rather to manage the inmate population, rehabilitate offenders when possible and - most importantly - protect public safety.

Mike Ferriter of Helena is director of the Montana Department of Corrections.