Search South Dakota Public Records

How Are Inmate Records in South Dakota Created and Stored?

South Dakota inmate records are created when someone is arrested. As part of the initial intake paperwork, the arresting officer fills out a RAP sheet which contains the suspect’s name, address, phone number, physical description, and details of their crime. Then as the inmate moves through the justice system, their file is updated with everything that happens to them. Files are updated daily. The South Dakota Department of Correction is the entity in charge of keeping, storing, and updating inmate records. To make things easy, they keep them online in a searchable database. Using the South Dakota inmate locator, anyone can perform an inmate search at any time, day or night.

What Does South Dakota’s Prison System Look Like?

South Dakota has a variety of facilities and programs that make up its correctional system. Their mission as outlined on their website is to: “protect the citizens of South Dakota by providing safe and secure facilities for juvenile and adult offenders committed to our custody by the courts, to provide effective community supervision to offenders upon their release and to utilize evidence-based practices to maximize opportunities for rehabilitation.” The South Dakota prison system is comprised of:

Types of Jails and Prisons in South Dakota

The South Dakota Department of Corrections is the government agency that oversees and manages the state prisons and juvenile detention facilities. State prisons hold inmates who have been sentenced to long-term stays, and juvenile detention centers hold youth offenders. There is one federal prison in South Dakota run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons and numerous county jails that house pretrial inmates and recently arrested suspects.

How Many People are Locked up in South Dakota?

South Dakota’s prison system holds 3,831 residents in various kinds of correctional facilities, from which 3,775 residents are held in state prisons, 22 in federal prisons.

South Dakota State Prisons

The state of South Dakota has six state prisons. Each varies in the demographic they serve and number of units with different levels of custody. Most facilities house only male inmates, but one is a women’s prison. The South Dakota Department of Corrections is the agency in charge of operating and managing all state prisons, community corrections, and reentry programs for all inmates in the state. The six state prisons in South Dakota include:

• South Dakota State Penitentiary.
• Jameson Annex.
• Mike Durfee State Prison.
• South Dakota Women’s Prison.
• Rapid City Community Work Center.
• Yankton Community Work Center.

South Dakota Federal Prisons

South Dakota also has one federal prison that holds inmates who have broken federal laws inside state boundaries. The federal prison in South Dakota is managed and run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. They have a complete website with details on each facility in each state and how to visit federal inmates. The details on the one federal prison in South Dakota are as follows:

• Yankton FPC - a minimum-security federal prison camp housing 466 male inmates.

South Dakota County Jails

The state of South Dakota has sixty-six counties, and each one has a Sheriff’s Office to keep the peace. These Sheriff’s Offices have county jails to hold suspects and pretrial detainees. Many of these local law enforcement agencies have websites where visitors can learn more about how the local jails work.

South Dakota Juvenile Detention Centers

The South Dakota Department of Corrections also oversees and manages all juvenile detention centers in the state. They have three state-run facilities and numerous mental health institutions. The state also contracts with out-of-state juvenile detention facilities to house youth offenders and provide education, rehabilitation, and supervision. The juvenile detention centers in South Dakota include:

In-State

• McCrossan Boy’s Ranch.
• New Beginnings Center.
• Aurora Plains.

Out-of-State

• Benchmark.
• Clarinda Academy.
• Coastal Harbor Treatment Center.
• Copper Hills Youth Center.
• Forest Ridge Academy.
• Mesabi Academy.
• Natchez Trace Youth Academy.
• Southwestern Youth Services.
• Woodward Academy.

Why are People Incarcerated in South Dakota?

About 7,300 people are incarcerated in the state of South Dakota. Of those, 4,000 are in state prison, 1,700 are in local jails, 1,200 are in federal prison, 230 are in juvenile detention, ten are in mental institutions, and 170 are in Indian Country facilities. The majority of people in prison in South Dakota (43.63%) committed violent crimes, including rape, murder, and assault. The next highest number of inmates (33.05%) are in prison due to drug charges. The rest of the inmates committed non-violent crimes.

South Dakota’s Incarceration Rate and Statistics

South Dakota’s incarceration rate for year-end 2016 under state prison or local jail jurisdiction per 100,000 population was 440, which is lower than an average incarceration rate by 2%. The number of South Dakota prisoners at the year-end of 2016 was 3,831, from which 13% were female prisoners, whereas the number of male prisoners was 3,333 in 2016.

Where Do South Dakota Inmates Go When They are Released?

Within the six state-run prison facilities in South Dakota, a couple of them are work-release programs aimed at helping reduce recidivism, and prepare inmates for the real world when they get out of prison. Many South Dakota inmates will transition this way. The others will simply go back home to family and friends.

How Does Parole Work in South Dakota?

South Dakota’s parole board includes nine representatives who are in charge of monitoring the progress of every inmate incarcerated in the state. When this board feels that an inmate has served enough time and does not pose a threat to society, they may release them early on parole. Parole is a supervisory program where the inmate has to check-in regularly with a parole officer and complete other tasks such as getting a job, finding housing and other items. If they fail to complete these tasks, they will return to prison.

Parole Population

How Does Someone Get Probation in South Dakota?

South Dakota judges always have the option of assigning probation rather than sending an offender to prison. This privilege is usually given to first-time or low-risk offenders. Probation is also a supervised program where the offender may resume normal life, live at home, go to work and live free but they must follow all the court-ordered rules which always includes checking-in regularly with a probation officer. If the offender fails to do so or violates any of the other directives, they will go immediately to prison.

Probation Statistics