Policing Square Butte: who reports, and what
The closest graded town is Lewistown, 47 miles away, at C−. Square Butte has no police department of its own: it’s an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) in Chouteau County. The Chouteau County Sheriff’s Office reports to the FBI for the parts of the county without police of their own, so there are no figures for Square Butte alone, and no Safety Grade.
What stands out about safety in Square Butte
Policed by the county
Square Butte is a census-designated place, with no town government. Crimes there are reported to the FBI inside the Chouteau County Sheriff’s Office’s totals for the county. County police ↓
Counts, not rates
The FBI doesn’t publish how many people the Chouteau County Sheriff’s Office covers, so its totals can’t be turned into a per-resident rate or a grade for Square Butte. County police ↓
The nearest graded towns
The closest Montana towns with their own police figures are Lewistown (C−, 47 mi), Great Falls (D, 51 mi), Havre (D−, 75 mi). Nearby towns can differ a lot from Square Butte. Nearest ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What the Chouteau County Sheriff’s Office reports
Reports to the FBI for the parts of Chouteau County without police of their own, which include Square Butte.
Property crimes
Violent crimes
2025 offenses reported by the Chouteau County Sheriff’s Office
Counts, not rates: the FBI doesn’t publish how many people each agency covers. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, Tables 10–11.
Crimes reported to the FBI for the whole area the department covers, by year.
The nearest Montana towns with a Safety Grade
| Town | Grade | Distance | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lewistown | C− | 47 mi | 6.1 | 9.7 |
| Great Falls | D | 51 mi | 5.9 | 39.2 |
| Havre | D− | 75 mi | 7.3 | 37.2 |
| Chinook | B | 87 mi | 2.6 | 6.0 |
| Conrad | B− | 93 mi | 2.7 | 7.0 |
| East Helena | C | 103 mi | 4.1 | 15.1 |
Straight-line distance from the center of Square Butte. Nearby towns can differ a lot from Square Butte.
Each town’s own police figures, per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
No one died in a crash on Square Butte’s roads in 2019–2023
That is about what is typical for Montana towns of 2,500–5,000 people: at their median rate (0.0 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Square Butte’s size would see about 0 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Square Butte’s own rate (0.0) is context, not a ranking.
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
Square Butte and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- A county agency covers a wide area. Its totals mix many communities, so they say little about any one of them.
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in Square Butte
Is Square Butte, MT safe?
There is no Safety Grade for Square Butte. The nearest Montana towns with a grade are Lewistown (C−, 47 mi), Great Falls (D, 51 mi), Havre (D−, 75 mi).
Who polices Square Butte?
The Chouteau County Sheriff’s Office. Square Butte is an unincorporated community, and the department reports to the FBI for the parts of Chouteau County without police of their own.
Heads-up board
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in Square Butte.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.