Billings native, longtime officer with Billings Police Department starts new job as MSU Billings Chief of Police

MSU BILLINGS NEWS SERVICES — When Scott Forshee retired in May after serving 27 years with the Billings Police Department, it was noted that he wanted to take a little time off.

As things turned out, “a little” turned out to be the operative phrase.

A bit more than a month after his retirement, Forshee began work this week as chief of the Montana State University Billings Police Department and is busy learning a new set of ropes.

While Forshee, a Billings native and a 1977 graduate of Billings Senior High, is familiar with the university and its place in the community, he is now on the fast track to learning about the intricacies and details of his job.

“I’m just busy trying to figure out how things operate here,” he said Wednesday during a short interview at his new office.

A straightforward, engaging individual, Forshee said he will be working on updating policies and procedures so that the department of six officers and one sergeant are a model of efficiency and professionalism. Proper direction and accountability are important, he said.

“You can write all that stuff on paper,” he said, “but we need to make sure we do what we say we’re going to do.”

Immediate goals are development of an emergency plan for the university and expanding the level of professionalism of the department. Standards of excellence will be set for everything from visibility around the university to the uniform appearance of officers.

Forshee has been active in law enforcement in Billings on several fronts and brings broad experience and leadership to his new job. He has participated on community-oriented policing through the Adopt A Cop program with local schools and as an instructor in the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program. He has planning and crisis management experience as a SWAT team member. He has leadership experience as a patrol sergeant and was supervisor of the city/county drug unit.

He replaces Barbara Hagel, who retired in 2007.