Richard Collins
Richard Collins spent his early childhood years in various cities across the United States, a vast majority of his childhood and education occurred on the east coast where he grew up. After graduating high school, he enlisted in the United States Air Force. During his time in the US Air Force, he was assigned to the 28th Security Police Squadron, now the 28th Security Forces Squadron. During his time in the US Air Force, he was assigned to various roles including flightline security, base patrols and as a Law Enforcement Desk Sergeant, both stateside and when deployed overseas in support of various operations. Richard moved to Montana in 1997 where he began his career with the Montana Department of Corrections working with juveniles at Riverside Youth Correctional Facility. During his early years with the Department, he also worked as a Drill Instructor/Facilitator at the Treasure State Correctional Training Center. In 2000, he was hired as a Deputy Sheriff with the Beaverhead County Sheriff’s Office where he was a D.A.R.E. Officer and Reserve Forces Commander. Richard returned to the Department of Corrections in 2005 as a Drill Instructor/Victim Impact Facilitator before being promoted to Senior Drill Instructor.
In 2007, Richard began his career with the Office of Investigations where his primary focus was PREA (Prison Rape Elimination Act) cases that involved sexual assaults and staff sexual misconduct. In addition to investigating both criminal and administrative cases, he was responsible for facilitating numerous courses on PREA for the department and other agencies across Montana. After approximately three years, Richard transitioned to a general case Investigator where he began investigating a variety of felony cases, including violent crime investigations, death investigations and miscellaneous drug investigations; while continuing to advise on PREA related matters and instruct PREA related courses for the department and other outside agencies.
Currently, Richard’s focus is conducting background investigations, investigations of personnel associated with the Department, and the Unified Intelligence Team for the Department. In addition to his role as a Criminal Investigator and working with various local, state, and federal partners, he conducts numerous training courses for the Department including firearms, PREA Investigator Training, Comprehensive Officer Resiliency, and Ethics. Richard began attending the MVCIA Conference in 2014 and was a previous member of the Northwest Gang Investigator Association.