The South Dakota Department of Corrections got the message. It’s cracking down on parole violators…now there’s an overcrowding emergency in the two largest jails in South Dakota.
Minnehaha County Sheriff Mike Milstead recently briefed county commissioners on the problem. “We were running an average of about eight parole holds in the Minnehaha County Jail, and today we have a hundred and sixty of our inmates that have parole officers,” said Milstead. “A number of them, most of them, have committed new crimes in the community while they were, quote, in the custody of the Department of Corrections.”
Parolees who commit new offenses are jailed at the expense of the county where they’re arrested.
The sudden glut of new inmates forced the Sheriff’s Office to prematurely open the third floor of the jail, which was due for construction to prepare for future needs.
Sheriff Milstead is working with the Governor’s office and the Corrections Department to find solutions.
Thanks KELO-AM Radio