PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) – The debate of a proposed new men’s prison in Lincoln County was looped into the budget process for the South Dakota Department of Corrections.
Two Lincoln County residents stressed the importance of remaining fiscally conservative and exploring as many details as possible when weighing further funding for an estimated $700 million new men’s prison. A final contracted price for the new men’s prison won’t be known until September 2024, officials with the DOC told lawmakers the Joint Committee on Appropriations Monday morning.
DOC Secretary Kellie Wasko told lawmakers she knew the last year was going to be difficult because of how outdated some of the state’s prison facilities are. Wasko said new prisons should be celebrated as much as new schools and hospitals because they are just as necessary a part of society.
“This is just something we don’t talk about,” Wasko said. “We need to build a safe prison for our population and for our staff.”
Wasko said when she took over as DOC Secretary in Feb. 2022, there were way too many studies being conducted on the state’s prison system.
“We don’t need any more studies,” Wasko said. “The study of the study told all the studies that we need to build a safe prison for our population.”
Eric Hohman from Canton and Madeline Voegeli questioned the cost increases for the new men’s prison and if a new prison will solve long-standing problems within the DOC.
“When it is built, what will the number be and will it be tolerable?” Hohman asked lawmakers. “If efficiencies are not realized by adding another campus, I’m going to have difficulty embracing the idea of adding one.”
Hohman said lawmakers should demand data that building prisons up instead of out is required.
Voegeli said the American Correctional Association guidelines for new prison facilities recommend engagement with local authorities and citizens on site selection.
“Secretary Wasko boasted the desire to becoming accredited with the ACA,” Voegeli said. “Most employees live in Sioux Falls. Has any research been done by the DOC that could be presented that would determine if staffing could be continued safely at this new facility?”
Voegeli asked if funding alternative prison sites been fully investigated.
“It would behoove appropriations to take a step back and look at the internal affairs of the DOC before allocating funds to solve deeply rooted issues that cannot be solved through a shiny new facility,” Voegeli said.
South Dakota has 14th highest incarceration rate
Wasko said the state should consider some sentencing reforms similar to what North Dakota has implemented. North Dakota has an incarceration rate of 215, while South Dakota has an incarceration rate of 371, according to U.S. Department of Justice data from 2021. You can find that data other more in the DOC’s 2023 statistical report.
“Putting people in prison for 90 days does nothing but make their life worse,” Wasko said. “There’s a chance that you want them to be rehabilitated. We don’t have any programs that are less than 12 weeks. Most programs are 12 to 24 works.”
Wasko said other smaller states have implemented more balance with sentencing to treat people that need treatment rather than sent to the prison system “for a quick fix.” Wasko said she isn’t a judge, but struggles with someone who committed a crime receiving a required 20-year prison sentence where 18 years gets suspended and the person can be out of prison in six months.
“I’m still processing that and I have more of those than you’d ever believe,” Wasko said.
Wasko told lawmakers outsourcing inmates to other private correctional facilities would cost more than $13 million annually for 1,500 inmates.
“That is more than double the entire Department of Corrections budget right now,” Wasko said.
Wasko added inmates that are sex offenders, on insulin or any inmate not ambulatory wouldn’t be accepted.
“We don’t want six, seven stories high,” Wasko said about a new prison. “We need it lower because of the people that we’re accommodating.”
Wasko said during the process of helping design and build two new prison facilities, her staff has worked closely with the office of state engineers.
“We’ve contributed to the design team quite a bit,” Wasko said.
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January 30, 2024 at 01:54AM
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