New Recommendations for Future of South Dakota Penitentiary

While debate continues about where to build a new penitentiary in South Dakota, the consensus about the need for a new facility is growing.

The latest to weigh in on the topic is a group hired by the state to examine the current conditions of correctional facilities throughout South Dakota.

Dire predictions

In a report to the state's Prison Reset Task Force, the architectural design and planning consultant group, Arrington Watkins, says the current system is overcrowded and predicts the situation will only get worse without a new facility.

According to the group's research, the current level IV penitentiary, which was first built in 1881, is operating at 176 percent of capacity, with 751 inmates in a facility designed to hold 426.

Overall, South Dakota prisons currently house 3,925 inmates at six facilities. The number of incarcerated individuals in the state is expected to grow by nearly 354 percent over the next decade.

The report recommends that South Dakota build a new 1,728-bed facility as soon as possible to address the overcrowding issue.

Not recommending new location

The group did not specifically address where the new penitentiary should be located, although it did say that the facility should be within a 30-minute drive from Sioux Falls, out of consideration for accommodating current staff members who will now be working there.

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Ten different proposals for the location of the new penitentiary have been submitted for consideration from all over Eastern South Dakota.

The report also recommends that the state decommission the site of the current penitentiary once a new facility is complete.

What's next?

The 22-member Prison Reset Task Force, which was appointed by Governor Larry Rhoden in February, is expected to finish its work this summer before making a recommendation to a special legislative session on July 22nd.