Sioux Falls city leaders are crediting teamwork and cross-department communication for decreases in certain crime rates this year.
The City of Sioux Falls released some crime statistics at its semiannual public safety briefing on Tuesday, and the overall numbers look positive. Through August, Sioux Falls is seeing decreases in overdoses, overdose deaths, Narcan use, meth drug seizures, stolen vehicles and domestic and aggravated assaults.
Paul TenHaken is the Mayor of Sioux Falls. He said other cities the size of Sioux Falls don’t have as much communication across departments, and that’s why he chalks up crime decreases to teamwork.
“When we look at the way that these agencies work together it really does help deter crime because this is not a good place to be a criminal, and I think people know that,” TenHaken said.
Daniel Haggar is the Minnehaha County State’s Attorney. He echoes a similar line of thinking to Mayor TenHaken.
“I also think you that you have a lot of communication and accountability within the different agencies. I think he could tell you there have been times where I’ve called him, yelled at him because of disappointment with certain outcomes. It’s a two-way street. So being able to have those conversations and know that we expect a lot of each other, and when we don’t live up to that because again, there are going to be times when my office makes mistakes in the future, I know there are going to be times where I’m dissatisfied with something, we’re going to talk through that," Haggar said. "Same with the sheriff’s office. And so when you look at these partnerships where we have where we’re coordinating that response, that’s important we’re accountable to each other because ultimately that benefits the community.”
Police Chief Jon Thum said the city takes an intelligent approach to crime that allows each agency to “understand who the players are.” He said that yields results for different crime programs.
“In 2021 we saw what was going on with violent crime. Violent crime unit was formed. Violent crime unit partners with the state’s attorney and US attorney’s office. Warrant task force. Sioux Falls drug area task force, we’re like let’s take an intelligence-based approach towards this," Thume said. "Nobody cares whose title or whose agency it is. How can we make sure we work together to get this done? But even street racing, like we talk about again what does it look like? Collaboration. Multiple agencies getting involved including deputy state’s attorneys riding around with cops so they can have a better feel of the situation.”
Saturation patrols, which are collaborative efforts across both the local and state levels, have helped address speeding, reckless driving and racing this year. Nearly double the total citations have been handed out so far in 2025 compared to all of 2024.
