Bozeman police chief claims 'Yellowstone’ raised crime rate in Montana

BOZEMAN, MONTANA: Bozeman police chief Jim Veltkamp revealed that the popularity of Paramount Network’s TV series 'Yellowstone' is one of the main reasons for the increased crime rate in Montana.

A group of Bozeman men were arrested on August, 10, in an urban camping area that was described in court documents as a 'hotbed of narcotic activity', according to KBZK.

Jim Veltkamp says ‘Yellowstone’ popularity raised crime rate in Montana

Veltkamp told The Daily Mail on Friday, August 9, "I think overall for us specifically with the city of Bozeman it's just the growth and the challenges related to growth ... that is our biggest challenge."

He added, "Our city has grown so fast. Bozeman wasn't literally on the map, now it's a well-known place. I can't blame one single factor, I certainly can't attribute it all to the show 'Yellowstone,' but we hear it routinely."

He also said that some police officers even apply at the department and say they saw the town on the show and decided to moved there.

Veltkamp added, "The fact that our population is going up so fast means the numbers of crimes are going up fast. We simply need more capacity and bandwidth to keep up with those numbers of crimes even if the ratio, our crime rate, is staying the same and only going up slowly."

He also mentioned, "They can't see the increased human trafficking going on in town. A lot of them don't see the increased fentanyl available in town. But they do see people running red lights, so that becomes their biggest issue."

'Yellowstone' prequel's shooting to cause road closures in Galveston

The City of Galveston announced that several road closures will be in effect this week as production crews start filming for the 'Yellowstone' prequel, according to Fox 26.  The city officials added that due to production delays, the filming schedule that was originally posted had to be changed. 

The show has many spinoffs and prequels such as 1923 which explores the early 20th century when pandemics, historic drought, the end of Prohibition, and the Great Depression all plague the Mountain West and the Duttons who call it home, according to GMA.

The show have Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford in lead roles whereas other cast members for the show are Brandon Sklenar, Darren Mann, Michelle Randolph, James Badge Dale, Marley Shelton, Brian Geraghty, Aminah Nieves, Julia Schlaepfer and Jerome Flynn.