|
|
| S. Dakota Will Need More Prison Space |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 09/30/2002 |
|
The state will need space for 550 more prison inmates within five years, according to reports given to the state Corrections Commission. Figures show that 2,989 people are in the state's penal system. Two hundred fifty are women, and 2,739 are men. The population could reach 3,481 by 2008. Laurie Feiler of the state Corrections Departmentpredicts a 7 percent increase for the next two years and 4.4 percent after that. The prison count grew 4.5 percent a year from 1998 to 2002, though the rate was 7.3 percent the past fiscal year. American Indians make up 8.3 percent of South Dakota's population but account for 23 percent of the men in prison and 30 percent of the women. The Legislature's State-Tribal Relations Committee plans to examine the issue this fall. A composite of averages shows that a typical prisoner is a man in his early 30s. He is addicted to alcohol or some other drug and likely will spend 17 months in custody before being released. The average age of men entering the penal system is 31; for women, it's 33. Figures also show that 80 percent of people entering prison are chemically dependent. 'I've been in this since 1988, and the need stays about the same, in the 80 percent to 82 percent range,' Gib Sudbeck, head of the state Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse in the Human Services Department, said. Three percent of new prisoners said they have a gambling problem, but gambling opponent JoDean Joy of Miller called that statistic misleading. The statistics show that 24 percent of the inmates were sent to prison from Pennington County, 20 percent from Minnehaha and 5 percent each from Brown and Lawrence counties. Twenty-one percent of women and 44 percent of men are in prison for violent crimes. Both those percentages are down from three years ago. In a 1999 report, 21 percent of the women and 12 percent of the men were serving time for drug-related crimes. The newest report puts the percentages at 27 and 16, respectively. The reports said 133 men and six women are in prison for life. Five men are on death row. |
advertise
|
privacy policy
|
add URL
|
about us
|
terms/disclaimer
|
contact us
|
join our team
|
help
I like learning more about prison reforms from this great website that has housed excellent articles on the topic. If I want to learn more about these important topics I know to contact Hamilton Lindley about more of this information because I know that I’ll get a fair answer.