Sioux Falls Sees Crime Rate Drop Amid Growing Population

There is a lot of good news in Sioux Falls' latest crime report.

Tuesday (September 30), Sioux Falls Police Chief Jon Thum, Mayor Paul TenHaken, Minnehaha County State’s Attorney Daniel Haggar, Minnehaha County Sheriff Mike Milstead, and Minnehaha County Chief Deputy Jeff Gromer addressed public safety trends, based on data from the first eight months of 2025.

A Look Inside the Numbers

The numbers show that crime rates are stable in the city and show decreases in areas of assaults, stolen vehicles, and racing and reckless driving.

Statistics show that crime numbers from January to August 31 are relatively similar to those of last year, which had the lowest crime-per-capita rate since before 2020.

Mixed Bag

So far in 2025, compared to the same timeframe last year, homicides and robberies are up slightly, while aggravated and domestic assaults, stolen vehicles, rapes, burglaries, larcenies, and vandalism are all down. Total assaults, aggravated and domestic, are down 14 percent from the same time last year.

Big Drop in Vehicle Thefts

As of September 15, the total number of stolen vehicles for the year is 701, a 31 percent decrease from the 1,011 stolen vehicles reported by the same time last year. Vehicle theft has been a trend the department has followed closely as it steadily increased since 2017 and peaked in 2023, with 1,602 cars reported stolen. Last year was the first since 2017 that the department saw a decrease in the number of stolen vehicles, with a total of 1,366.

Collaborative saturation patrols, with support from state and county resources, have also shown their effectiveness in addressing speeding, reckless driving, and racing. Citations from saturation patrols in 2024 totaled 775, and so far this year, 1,413 citations have been issued, almost doubling the total from last year.

Suicide cases are at 23 so far this year, up from 19 in 2024 and just under the 27 at this time in 2023, the highest in the past 5 years.

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