public safety

The Brown County Courthouse is located in Aberdeen and is connected to other county offices, such as the Auditor's Office and the Brown County Jail. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

Report: State court system fields fewer criminal cases

BY: - October 18, 2023

The number of criminal case filings dropped in South Dakota in fiscal year 2023, continuing a five-year slide in criminal caseloads. The drop in caseloads appears in the state Unified Judicial System’s annual report, released this week. The drop is a contrast from the arrest figures in the state Division of Criminal Investigation’s annual “Crime […]

Metro Communications Director Mike Gramlick (right), talks to city leaders and reporters during a June 2023 tour of the office that will soon house 911 dispatchers in Sioux Falls. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Sioux Falls aims to boost efficiency at state’s busiest regional 911 call center

BY: - September 7, 2023

For more than a fifth of South Dakota’s population, a call to 911 puts them in touch with someone from Metro Communications in downtown Sioux Falls. Despite its size and its role in public safety, Metro Communications doesn’t have its own legal team or human resources staff. That’s led to a host of headaches for […]

Gov. Kristi Noem appointed Bob Perry as Department of Public Safety secretary, effective Sept. 22, 2023. (Courtesy of Gov. Noem's Office)

Noem appoints former FBI agent to replace retiring public safety secretary

BY: - September 6, 2023

South Dakota Public Safety Secretary Craig Price is retiring this month after almost five years on the job and 26 years in law enforcement. The Department of Public Safety is responsible for the Highway Patrol and assisting with emergency management for natural disasters across the state, among other duties. Price’s tenure as secretary included the […]

Rep. Tim Reisch, R-Howard, speaks on the floor of the South Dakota House of Representatives during the 2023 legislative session at the Capitol in Pierre. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

House backs ‘truth in sentencing’

BY: - February 28, 2023

PIERRE — A bill to upend the state’s parole system for violent offenders is one step from the governor’s desk. A majority of the House of Representatives went against the pleas of a former Department of Corrections secretary and the House Majority leader on Tuesday and passed Senate Bill 146, dubbed a “truth in sentencing” […]

Sioux Falls Police Chief Jon Thum addresses the city's homeless task force on Oct. 24, 2022 in Carnegie Town Hall in Sioux Falls.

Street teams, ‘housing first’ among recommendations from Sioux Falls homeless task force

BY: - October 25, 2022

Street teams of social workers and volunteers would be the first to respond to panhandling and loitering if the Sioux Falls City Council heeds the advice of its homeless task force. The task force met Monday for one of its final meetings before pitching its suggestions to the council.  The group emerged earlier this year […]