FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, April 2, 2019
CONTACT: Tim Bormann (605) 773-3215
PIERRE, S.D. – Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg released today the Crime in South Dakota 2018 report. This report is compiled annually by the Attorney General’s Criminal Statistical Analysis Center (SAC) and is the most accurate and comprehensive compilation of criminal statistics in the state as it reflects the actual arrest and reporting information by South Dakota law enforcement. Criminal statistics are an indispensable asset to aid in identifying trends in criminal activity which, in turn, assists in crime prevention and enforcement efforts across South Dakota.
“The statistics we release today reinforce, once again, that South Dakota remains a safe place to live thanks to strong community involvement and the vigilant efforts of law enforcement,” said Ravnsborg. “Our statistics show that we need to continue to strengthen our prevention, enforcement and rehabilitative efforts in the areas of drug and alcohol addiction, but overall our law enforcement is working hard to KEEP SOUTH DAKOTA SAFE.”
South Dakota law enforcement agencies reported a total of 45,142 arrests involving 75,955 offenses in 2018. More serious offenses accounted for a total of 20,675 arrests and include the following: murder (1st and 2nd degree)-11, sex offenses-80, assault-5,471, larceny/theft-1,643, fraud-800, drug/narcotic-8,205, prostitution-16, kidnapping-56, robbery-74, arson-27, burglary-306, motor vehicle theft-205, counterfeiting-133, embezzlement-31, stolen property-158, destruction of property-576, pornography/obscene material-21, and weapon law violations-260. Less serious offenses included the following, DUI-6,087 (6,671 in 2017), liquor law violations-2,218 and disorderly conduct-2,495.
Some of the statistics which can be found in the report include a 28% drop in sex offenses from 2017, as well as a 32% decrease in thefts for that same period, yet those lower numbers of thefts reported still accounted for more than $28 million worth of property crime loss. At the same time South Dakota has still seen an overall increase of 49.37% in drug offenses over the past six years, reinforcing the knowledge that our law enforcement must remain vigilant and prepared to combat this issue.
For comparison purposes please note that some statistics reflect arrest numbers while others identify incident reports.
You can read the full report at Crime in South Dakota 2018 Report
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