According to 2016 crime statistics from the South Dakota attorney general’s office, drug offenses are up and violent crime is down. South Dakota law enforcement agencies made a total of 42,000 arrests last year.
Attorney General Marty Jackley says despite the number of arrests, South Dakota remains a safe state to live in...
“When you look at some of the violent crimes that most people are worried about, murder and sex offenses, we’re down over 20 percent.”
According to the report released from Jackley’s office, assaults, fraud, drug and kidnapping arrests are up from 2015. DUI arrests were up from that time.
Jackley says the major factor for arrests in 2016 is drugs…
“If you look at the increase we saw in arrests, it was about 2,000, 853 of those come directly from drugs. And then you have those additional crimes that are committed that are incident to drugs. I think signifies how important it is we here in South Dakota focus on the anti-meth campaign and keep meth away from our youth and get it out of our state.”
Jackley says a lot of the meth that enters South Dakota comes from countries south of the U-S border.
The state’s population increased by 7,000 people in 2016.
To view the Attorney General's 2016 crime report, click here.