Sheriff's Office compiles registry of businesses

Earlier this winter, the owner of a coffee shop was surprised to read in the newspaper that someone had apparently interrupted an overnight burglary at her business. No one from the Flathead County Sheriff's Office had contacted her. No one from the office knew who owned the business.

In another incident, a business was broken into. Deputies waited for two hours, protecting the unsecure business, until the owner or someone else who could take responsibility for it could be found.

"Unless we have had dealings with that business before, we have no emergency contact numbers," said Undersheriff Mike Meehan.

Now, the Sheriff's Office is compiling a registry of business owners to prevent the problem.

"There are so many new businesses," he said. "It's important the sheriff's office has that information."

A simple form now will be used to store the information in a database. Information requested are name, address, and phone number of the business, the alarm company name if applicable, and the names and phone numbers of two people who will respond if a problem occurs.

The form can be filled out online or at the Sheriff's Office. It's kept confidential, Meehan said.

He presented the plan to Evergreen business owners last week.

"They were very receptive to it," he said.

If a business changes hands or employee changes occur, the forms can be updated easily.

"It really helps us serve them better," Meehan said of the businesses who provide information.

The form can be found on the office's Web site, www.co.flathead.mt.us/sheriff/, at the bottom of the page, under Business ID.