Kristi Noem is Governor in part because she walloped her primary opponent, then-Attorney General Marty Jackley, for letting crime get out of hand.
The 2018 statewide crime report from embarrassingly unqualified Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg indicates that, in Jackley’s last year of enforcing South Dakota’s laws, the number of crimes went down 1.3%. Serious crimes (Group A offenses) went down 3.19%, while minor crimes (Group B offenses) rose 2.94%.
There was less killing and burgling, fewer juvenile arrests, and fewer DUI arrests. Drug arrests remain high, but they flattened out. Rape did increase 4.9% (blame Trump).
There were over 2,900 cases of shoplifting, over 1,900 thefts from cars, 923 thefts from buildings, 53 cases of wire fraud, 32 snatched purses, 28 picked pockets, and 28 cases of extortion. There were fifteen cases of incest. There were only five cases of welfare fraud.
Ravnsborg drones that “South Dakota remains a safe place to live” because “our law enforcement is working hard to KEEP SOUTH DAKOTA SAFE.” He looks at all the drug and alcohol violations and says we have to “strengthen our prevention, enforcement and rehabilitative efforts in the areas of drug and alcohol addiction.”
The ACLU reminds us that drug use isn’t actually increasing; we’re just more aggressively busting people for their addictions:
Over the past six years, arrests for drug offenses have risen 49.37 percent, according to the report. But it’s also important to note that an increase in drug arrests does not mean there’s been an increase in drug use in South Dakota. Drug use rates in South Dakota have stayed relatively stable over time, according to the National Institute of Drug Abuse.
“Though drug use is undoubtedly a serious issue, we can’t incarcerate our way out of addiction,” said Libby Skarin, ACLU of South Dakota policy director. “Assigning years in prison to those who have a drug present in their system is disproportionate and causes more harm than good to individuals struggling with addiction, their families and their communities.”
Instead of using an enormous amount of taxpayer funds to prosecute and incarcerate drug users, the ACLU of South Dakota is advocating for a smarter approach and supports the use of treatment and diversion whenever possible. Initiatives like drug courts have been successful in keeping offenders in communities while opening up avenues for them to get the treatment they need. Supporting and expanding alternatives to incarceration can solve the underlying causes of many addiction-related crimes and save taxpayer dollars.
Additionally, reclassifying ingestion as a misdemeanor and investing the resulting savings of state funds in diversion and treatment programs designed to combat addiction would go a long way in helping to solve the underlying problems leading to drug abuse [ACLU-SD, press release, 2019.04.02].
I’m still waiting to hear Ravnsborg say he’s dropping his plan for an imaginary meth prison and advocating a concrete plan for increased funding for drug treatment.
Feds must have cut off grant monies.
NACRJ & others estimate 52% of crime is not reported to law enforcement. Depending on the type of offense, many victims have no expectation that the criminal justice system will meaningfully address their needs. Many offenders who end up incarcerated find themselves incarcerated again – and sometimes again. Punishment (aka state retribution) is at times the only appropriate response. Many offenses would be dealt with more justifiably AND cost effectively if there would be more emphasis on genuine “corrections” and “rehabilitation,” thus reducing recidivism.
One must crime reports w/ a critical eye as Hawkeye Mike suggests…
Minnesota judges support drug courts because they work. I listened to a judge describe his experiences with drug court and how effective he found it to be. He said the large majority of his peers support drug courts. Minnesota is working to establish drug courts in every circuit.