The new leader of the state’s prison system said Thursday it’s the start of a turnaround.
“It’s not going to show overnight,” said Nick Lamb, “but it will show in a few years. You’ll see a substantial decrease.”
The staff and space devoted to programming in the Rapid City women’s prison will help inmates turn their lives around, Lamb said. A task force on rehabilitation appointed by the governor is also developing ideas to help people stay out of trouble after their release.
Lamb began working as secretary of the Department of Corrections last month after his appointment by Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden. Lamb succeeded Kellie Wasko, who resigned after three and a half years in the job.
During a press conference at the construction site of the new women’s prison in northeast Rapid City, South Dakota Searchlight asked Lamb and Rhoden about a September report by the Prison Policy Initiative. It said South Dakota incarcerates 338 of every 100,000 women in the state, which is the highest rate in the nation and would be the highest in the world if South Dakota was a country.
Lamb’s prediction that the rate will come down was the only response to the question. Neither he nor Rhoden disputed the report’s findings.
In prepared remarks, Rhoden said 51% of imprisoned women in South Dakota have drug convictions, and more than 90% have substance use disorders. He was referring to incarcerated women in Pierre, where the state has a women’s prison that will continue to operate and a minimum-security facility that will close after the Rapid City prison opens. The state also contracts for extra space in the Hughes County Jail. The combined female inmate population among those three locations was 543 as of Thursday.
The Rapid City prison, designed for minimum and medium-security inmates, will house up to 300 women.
“This is an area we have to do better,” Rhoden said, “and this facility will allow us to.”
The state is paying $87 million to construct the Rapid City prison, which is scheduled to open in July. Rhoden is asking lawmakers to budget $13 million for its first year of operations, plus $2.4 million in one-time funding for staff training.
The facility will need 139 employees, including 96 for security, 23 for health care and 20 for education, programming and administration.
One of the buildings on the campus will have space for services including a kitchen and laundry, and programming including behavioral health services, classes and spiritual activities. There are three housing units, plus a unit containing 12 beds for mothers with babies. Another building will house administrators and a visitation area.
Meanwhile, the state is preparing to build a $650 million men’s prison in northeast Sioux Falls. It will replace the oldest parts of the Sioux Falls penitentiary, which dates to 1881.
This story first appeared in the South Dakota Searchlight. Read the original here.
