The most dangerous places to work as a law enforcement officer in South Dakota
RAPID CITY S.D. – Law enforcement regularly put themselves in dangerous situations while serving in the line of duty. This is especially true in South Dakota, where the violent crime rate is 10th highest in the nation, according to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Statistics,
But not everywhere in the state is the same, and some jurisdictions are more dangerous for officers than others.
Here are the places in South Dakota where officers faced the highest rates of assault in 2021:
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#1 – Sisseton
The agency where law enforcement has faced the most abuse is the small town of Sisseton, located on the Lake Traverse Reservation in S.D. 2021 had a police officer assault rate of 1.16 assaults per officer.
It's worth noting, however, that the small jurisdiction only had 6 full-time officers, and so this only comes out to a total of 7 instances of assault.
Photo Credit: Shalynn Wren
The agency where law enforcement has faced the most abuse is the small town of Sisseton, located on the Lake Traverse Reservation in S.D. 2021 had a police officer assault rate of 1.16 assaults per officer.
It's worth noting, however, that the small jurisdiction only had 6 full-time officers, and so this only comes out to a total of 7 instances of assault.
Photo Credit: Shalynn Wren
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#2 – Brown County
Brown County Sherrif's Office faced 18 assaults across their 16 full-time officers. The city of Aberdeen's Police Department, located within Brown County, also had an above-average, but lower, rate of 25 assaults across 50 officers.
Brown County Sherrif's Office faced 18 assaults across their 16 full-time officers. The city of Aberdeen's Police Department, located within Brown County, also had an above-average, but lower, rate of 25 assaults across 50 officers.
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#3 Rapid City
The Rapid City Police officers were assaulted 96 times in 2021, more than any other agency in the state. They had a rate of 0.73 assaults per officer. Rapid City has elevated rates of other violent crimes as well. 9 of the state's 19 murders were within RCPD jurisdiction in 2021.
Rapid City is the only one of South Dakota's larger cities on this list. Sioux Falls PD has a rate of 0.22 assaults/officer, less than a third of RCPD. Photo credit Mackenzie Dahlberg, NewsCenter1
The Rapid City Police officers were assaulted 96 times in 2021, more than any other agency in the state. They had a rate of 0.73 assaults per officer. Rapid City has elevated rates of other violent crimes as well. 9 of the state's 19 murders were within RCPD jurisdiction in 2021.
Rapid City is the only one of South Dakota's larger cities on this list. Sioux Falls PD has a rate of 0.22 assaults/officer, less than a third of RCPD. Photo credit Mackenzie Dahlberg, NewsCenter1
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#4 – Aberdeen
The city of Aberdeen's Police Department, located within Brown County in the northeastern portion of the state, had an above-average rate of 25 assaults across 50 officers in 2021.
The city of Aberdeen's Police Department, located within Brown County in the northeastern portion of the state, had an above-average rate of 25 assaults across 50 officers in 2021.
Certain law enforcement agencies, including several on Native American reservations throughout the state as well as several small rural agencies, did not report data consistently and were not included.
