According to new data from the Prison Policy Initiative, South Dakota keeps 6,500 people locked up each day. That’s an incarceration rate of 824 per 100,000 population.
South Dakota’s incarceration rate exceeds the national rate of 664/100K pop and places us 12th among 34 states that have higher incarceration rates than any other nation:
Throw in parole and probation, and South Dakota ranks 19th in the U.S. for the rate of people under legal punishment. Minnesota ranks 13th: they have a lower incarceration rate and much lower parole rate than South Dakota but a much higher rate of probation.
White folks make up a slim majority of South Dakota’s prison population, although they constitute 81% of the population at large. The percentage of American Indians in our prisons is more than four times their percentage of the general population.
Incarceration rates in South Dakota and nationwide are far higher than they were from 1925 to 1975, although coronavirus appears to have produced the sharpest decline in incarceration rates in recent history:
At peril of making an argument for outhouses, we used get along for decades putting a much smaller fraction of our population behind bars than we do today. Now the cost of putting so many people behind bars is straining the budgets of county governments.
If South Dakotans aren’t willing to pay higher taxes for these stunningly higher incarceration rates, perhaps we need to look back 50 years—or look across our borders to Canada and the UK today—and figure out how we got along without minimum prison sentences, long sentences, and so many sentences.
Your state sweeps its unaddressed disparity and disenfranchisement issues under the Governor’s office rug.
Your state sweeps its unrecognized minority issues into prisons.
Two words describe South Dakota’s attempt at labeling leadership ignorance as small government.
LAZY LEGISLATORS
Exactly!!
“At peril of making an argument for outhouses, we used get along for decades putting a much smaller fraction of our population behind bars than we do today. Now the cost of putting so many people behind bars is straining the budgets of county governments.
If South Dakotans aren’t willing to pay higher taxes for these stunningly higher incarceration rates, perhaps we need to look back 50 years—or look across our borders to Canada and the UK today—and figure out how we got along without minimum prison sentences, long sentences, and so many sentences.”
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SD State Senators Chase and Delbert and committee are looking in all the wrong places to shore-up county government finances. They seek ‘tax revenues’ – which will only add to the problem of excess county liabilities. They need to target the source of those liabilities – the waste in the criminal justice system. Locking up non-violent offenders is ridiculous. Since about 1975 the South Dakota legislature’s spasm of creating victimless and near victimless crime is a root cause of the counties over-spending on legal defense for those criminally accused and for jails. As a first step the legislature ought purge nonsense laws like, ‘ingesting’, and make individual possession of minor amounts of drugs a civil and not a criminal action. The legislature ought to update, via continuing programmatic inflation adjustments, all criminal statutes tied to an amount of dollars such as grand theft, etc.
The legislative goal ought to be to return the SD incarceration rate to that of 1925 to 1975. The SD legislature should not rest until it’s accomplished that.
Perhaps, now that Kristi has recognized that Cory can’t get her a gig at the White House, she is auditioning for a cabinet position, say Homeland Security or Immigration where she can steal children from parents. Gotta show the MAGAs how “tough” we can be, right?
Loren, I believe the Governor’s deployment of the National Guard to the border is just concluding. I assume that now she has secured the southern border, a cabinet position for Homeland Security is certainly in her grasp. Mission Accomplished!
John notes, “ As a first step the legislature ought purge nonsense laws like, ‘ingesting’, and make individual possession of minor amounts of drugs a civil and not a criminal action.”
This assertion touches the truth of said laws. These laws are about “white revenge” against those who are simply “different “ in some way and thus needing punishment. It’s the way of their religion.
I agree with John and P. Aitch – the “ingestion” law alone is completely insane, and no other state has it.
Also, there’s no sense in incarcerating people for addiction (alcohol or drugs) with heavy sentences and then not providing any treatment for them until 6 weeks before they’re released. People don’t quit being addicts just because they’re in prison. They need help, they need treatment, they need AA, NA, etc., and they REALLY need their own facility to do all this, separated from violent felons.
Another thing that is almost never discussed is the large number of people who are mentally handicapped in our prison system. (I know, I volunteered in the prison system for over 12 years – currently on retirement.) Incarcerating someone with the mental ability of a 10 or 12 year old – or even less – because of their crimes (no matter how violent) does nothing to help them or anyone else. THEY NEED TO BE IN A MENTAL HOSPITAL, not in prison, where they are routinely used as punching bags and sex toys.
Finally, you can have good government or you can have cheap government, but you can’t have both. The same applies to prisons and jails. The fact that prison guards make less than jail employees in this state tells you all about our government.
oh weird the percentage of residents who are incarcerated began to skyrocket right about the time the WAR ON DRUGS kicked off…
well, i think at this point, it’s fair to say: Congratulations to Drugs, for winning the War on Drugs! Viva la drugs.
Interesting it top 15 or so states are considered Red States….Thanks Ronnie Reagan