SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A consultant report released Thursday on the future of corrections in South Dakota includes recommendations with a total price tag that could reach $2.1 billion.
The report recommends building a 1,728-bed replacement for the current state penitentiary in Sioux Falls. Additionally, it advocates for building either two more prisons with 768 beds apiece or another single facility comparable in size to the penitentiary’s replacement. The report also recommends adding 300 beds to the Sioux Falls Minimum Center, which is set up for lower-risk inmates. Cumulatively, per the report, these costs “are expected to be between $1.9 to $2.1 billion.”
Waves crash over gates at Gavins Point on windy day
The 81-page report cost the state $729,322. It critically assesses the state’s correctional system, stating “facilities are overcrowded, have low staff-to-inmate ratios, do not conform to modern correctional practices, and are growing faster than solutions can be put in place.” The report describes the current state penitentiary overlooking central Sioux Falls as a lost cause, stating that it has no hope of ever satisfying safety requirements or building codes. Additionally, it says the facility fails to adhere to Americans with Disabilities Act standards and also comes well short of having enough room for recreation or education, stating that it “is well below modern program space recommendations.”
Just as Project Prison Reset’s task force unanimously voted in April, the consultant report says the current penitentiary should be replaced. The report specifies that the penitentiary’s replacement should be built as quickly as possible in Sioux Falls or no more than 30 minutes away…