Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg has released 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 crime statistics in the state as it reflects the actual arrest and reporting information by South Dakota law enforcement.
Full report is available here
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.
The city of Huron saw a rise in total offenses in 2018.
Statistics for the Huron Police Dept. indicate there were 1,115 offenses reported in the city in 2018, compared to 865 in 2017. There were a total of 321 arrests in 2018.
Last year, there were 8 rapes, 46 aggravated assaults, 90 simple assaults, 42 burglary/breaking & entering, 107 drug violations, and 12 motor vehicle reported to the Huron Police Dept.
In 2018, the Beadle County Sheriff’s Office received reports of 49 total offenses compared to 38 offenses in 2017. There were 20 arrests. 3 aggravated assaults, 9 simple assaults, 4 burglary/breaking & entering, and, 5 motor vehicle thefts reported to the sheriff’s office.
(SD Attorney General’s Office)