Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight
SIOUX FALLS — South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden announced plans Friday to add an additional Highway Patrol squad for the Sioux Falls area.
“My philosophy is that the best way to fight crimes is to hire more officers,” Rhoden told a room full of press and public safety officials at the Sioux Falls Public Safety Campus. “Not to increase penalties.”
The plan includes adding eight troopers and a sergeant to the existing 27 Highway Patrol officers in the Sioux Falls area.
Rhoden said it will require $1 million in one-time money to get the squad up and running, and an additional $1.4 million in ongoing costs to keep them paid and patrolling. The governor plans to shift money around in the state’s highway fund to pay for the plan. The fund receives revenue from sources including fuel taxes and vehicle registration fees.
The plan still needs legislative approval. Rhoden said leading lawmakers are on board with the idea.
Sioux Falls Police Chief Jon Thum said the extra help is needed. He said the city is receiving 5,000 more calls for service annually than it did five years ago, and responded to over 130,000 calls for service last year alone. The city’s population has swollen from around 150,000 to more than 200,000 during the last 15 years.
“We know that the continued strain on our resources will grow as our population grows,” Thum said.
According to a presentation by the state Department of Public Safety to lawmakers last month, the Highway Patrol currently has 201 positions and 21 vacancies statewide, with the vacancies mostly in rural areas where the department has difficulties with recruitment. Officers from urban areas are rotated out to the rural areas to provide patrol coverage while vacancies persist.