Governor Kristi Noem says she’d like to see the criminal justice system work more toward providing addiction treatment as opposed to placing people in prison.
Before it was sold, some West River officials have suggested utilizing the former juvenile corrections facility in Custer as a treatment facility.
Now the state has repossessed the property.
Noem says there have been a lot of proposals as to what to do with the STAR academy facility.
However, she says there’s a reality associated with the building.
“They need millions and millions of dollars of upgrades,” Noem says. “The electrical system, the sewer system, the infrastructure all needs to be fixed and modernized. If we’re to do that we will literally need to come up with millions of dollars to utilize it that way. I’m not sure where that money comes from in a year like this year. So, obviously the STAR academy is not something I thought I would have responsibility for. I thought it was sold under the last administration. Now that it’s back in state hands we’re accessing every option we have.”
Noem was in Rapid City Wednesday for a ribbon cutting at the Pennington County Care Campus. It’s a multi-program treatment facility aimed at stopping the revolving door in the criminal justice system.
State lawmakers are also studying the controlled substance statutes on the books.