Sioux Falls reports drop in violent crime, increased interest in joining police force

After seeing an increase in violent crime last year, many categories are tracking better so far in 2021.

Mayor Paul TenHaken and Police Chief Jon Thum provided crime statistics through October that told a positive story overall.

“Fortunately, we’re in a different place in 2021,” TenHaken said. “We’ve seen a decrease almost across the board in our violent crime statistics.”

Overall calls for service through October are nearly identical year over year, with 108,049 through October, compared with 108,195 for the same time last year.

Homicides, aggravated and simple assaults, and robberies are all down.

So far, there have been five homicides, including two this month, compared with 13 total last year.

“We still are a metro area that measures our homicides at a remarkable small amount compared to other communities our size,” Thum said.

Aggravated and simple assaults, including domestic assaults, typically track with population growth, Thum said. But this year, they’re trending down:

• Aggravated assaults: 430 through October 2021 versus 481 in 2020 and 325 in 2019.
• Domestic aggravated assaults: 365 in 2021 versus 389 in 2020 and 294 in 2019.

“To see a decrease in this category is really a positive thing,” Thum said, crediting organizations such as Children’s Inn, The Compass Center and Call to Freedom for partnering with the community to provide needed services.

“The reality is people need resources and help sometimes to get out of these situations,” he said. “This is proof and evidence that partnership is working.”

Rape cases at 106 are two more than the same time last year.

Robberies are down as well at 97, compared with 113 last year and 76 in 2020. Burglaries, which also track with population growth, are up to 719, compared with 632 last year and 586 in 2019.

Want to help make Sioux Falls safer?

So here’s one statistic that has shot way up: stolen vehicles.

There have been 1,096 reported this year, compared with 906 for the same time last year and 599 in 2019.

“We won’t hide from that fact at all,” Thum said.

But here’s the rest of the story. Two or three weekends ago, there were 19 stolen vehicles, and 18 of them had the keys in them.

“We could probably put up a graphic of beating a dead horse,” Thum said. “We need to keep ourselves from being victimized.”

Try this, he suggested. Each night at 10 p.m., ask yourself where your keys are and if your vehicle is locked. Also, never leave firearms in your vehicle.

“A lot of times these stolen vehicles end up getting used in other crimes … other things that have more serious consequences,” Thum said. “Help us put these numbers down.”

Larceny cases are up at 4,618, compared with 4,473 last year and 4,251 the year before.

But vandalism is down at 1,557 cases this year, compared with 1,633 last year and 1,322 in 2019.

And while drug seizures have shown significant improvement, known overdose activity is growing. The Sioux Falls Minnehaha County Area Drug Task Force has combined for a record year in fentanyl seizures:

And there likely will be a record year for methamphetamine seizures too, Thum said.

There also likely will be a record year for known overdose deaths, and it’s not clear why.

Out-of-state interest

While many law enforcement agencies nationwide are struggling to hire, Sioux Falls continues to experience significant interest from out-of-state officers in relocating to the department.

“We have a community that really does support our law enforcement professionals. We also have a mayor that’s very supportive of public safety and a political environment that’s supportive of the work they’re doing,” TenHaken said. “We’re getting good officers. We’re getting officers with five, 10 years or more of experience that know what it takes to be a police officer because they’ve been doing the job.”

The change is showing up in hiring. More than four in 10 officers hired this year already were certified, compared with 19 percent last year and 12 percent in 2019.

“We want to keep our foot on the gas as far as keeping our staffing level high,” Thum said, adding the department is testing digital marketing too.

“We have to keep our message out there.”

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