Crime Question/ Confused??? (Rapid City: crime rate, school, live in)

[sdgoldpanner]

I have been in this state for 35 years, and I have to say that as far as I am concerned, South Dakota does have a low crime rate, and a very decent place to live. On paper its average may look higher, but is it really? It is in the way statistics are logged. The procedure used to figure these statistics(which is grossly outdated & mis-used) does not show a true representation of the percentage problem.
Look at it this way: South Dakota has a population of roughly 755,000. If rapes occurred to 1% of the population, (which is way over board to actual rapes) it would involve 7,550 women. On the other hand say California, has roughly 34 million people. If 1% of their women claimed rape, it would amount to 340,000 women being attacked. (Still way overboard for actual rapes. New York has 19 million people. 1% of that is 190,000 assults. So see, it is a number game. You and I both know within a years time, that there never was 7,550 women in S Dak raped, there never was 340,000 women in Calif attacked, and on down the list. The procedure like I said is outdated, and mis-used, but it is the procedure that is used because with statistics like that, any legislature, congress or for that fact the local community is going to vote for more law enforcement. If the ACTUAL numbers were actually used, the chance of more law enforcement officers would never happen. Remember, each city, town, state, etc., receives money from the government (usually under the table) to fill the coffers to pay for that added protection. Name me a city or state that does not want that influx of additional money. It is like I said, a numbers game.
I feel very confident in saying South Dakota is a safe state! The more population, the more crime, that is a given! Does that not make sense to you?
Rape Capital of the US! Absolute nonsense!
Surprised to see SO MANY registered sex offenders in South Dakota. Simple reasoning! South Dakota goes after each and every sex offender in the state. When an organization is bent on locating those type people, like South Dakota is, the numbers are going to be higher. Rapid City is doing a terrific job in this area. Anyone, anyone, can go to Rapid Citys sex offender list, and not only will you see a picture of the individual, you will also know where he lives with his address pin-pointed on the map! How many other states do that? Rapid City is doing a great job, and I would imagine that Sioux Falls is also.

[Jammie]

That was such a good post, Goldpanner. This article came out in the Mitchell Daily Republic today and since I'm not good at doing urls, I'd like to quote a bit of it.

Eight area counties see sex offender rise

Of the eight area counties that have seen an increase in registered sex offenders, Bon Homme County by far experienced the largest jump-but it's not as bad as it appears.

Because of a change in the way offenders are registered and logged on a state web site, offenders who are still incarcerated are included in a county's total. That means inmates at Mike Durfee State Prison in Springfield have boosted the overall count in Bon Homme County-by more then 2,000%.

On Nov. 2, 2004, according to the attorney general's website at the time, only 12 sex offenders were registered in Bon Homme County, Friday, according to the same website, there were 273 sex offendereds registered in Bon Homme.

The attorney general's sex offender website, on July 1st began including incarcerated registererd sex offenders.

Elsewhere in the region, Davison County had 39 registered sex offenders in 2004, a number that has risen to 42. End Quote

So, I'm not sure if other states are doing this the same way, but it would explain why we appear to have so many sex offenders.

[66.stng]

[quote=sdgoldpanner;200662]
The procedure like I said is outdated, and mis-used, but it is the procedure that is used because with statistics like that, any legislature, congress or for that fact the local community is going to vote for more law enforcement. If the ACTUAL numbers were actually used, the chance of more law enforcement officers would never happen. Remember, each city, town, state, etc., receives money from the government (usually under the table) to fill the coffers to pay for that added protection. Name me a city or state that does not want that influx of additional money. It is like I said, a numbers game.

That does make sense. It's along the same lines that during election year, more criminals are put away for longer times than in the years where the DA isn't running for election. At least, here that's true. I've never understood statistics very well, but the numbers surprised me when I read them.

We had a rape spree here in San Diego during the 80s. 99% of them happened around the areas of our colleges. It was during the summer, most of the women slept with their windows open, so it was easy entry for the criminals. It didn't take long for them to stop, I believe it was a few men doing this...Once they caught them, it all stopped. But I'm sure it boosted our stats for that year, probably shocked quite a lot of people as well...

[mrkool]

At the risk of upsetting the politically correct crowd, I recall reading some county-by-county stats for SD, and it sort of showed that certain crimes (like rape) are so common on the reservations, and towns near reservations that it skews the stats for the whole state.
On the whole I consider SD to be a very safe place. Not much to worry about compared to most states (except maybe cold and wind)

[MrMarple]

I concur with goldpanner. I lived in Rapid City during the 90's and found it to be quite safe and never experienced any crime problems. This is not to say that it doesn't happen there but if you avoid dodgy areas, yes there are some, especially at night, you'll find Rapid a very pleasant place. In fact, after I retire in a couple of years I'm planning on moving back there. There's a website called Moderator cut: linking to competitors sites is not allowed that produces a bar graph comparing major crime stats of one city versus another. Be advised though that crime stat accuracy depends greatly on reporting agencies, some are better than others. From having worked with Pennington County LE, I feel confident they are doing a great job and have earned my confidince FWIW. I would say to anyone considering moving to South Dakota if you can handle the cold, be prepared, it's an excellent place to live.

[uncleharley]

I could find no crime statistics for Shannon county, which has most of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation within it's borders. Corson County which has most of the Standing Rock Reservation within it's borders had 1 assault, 6burglaries, & 9 thefts in 2004. It had no rapes, no murders, no robberies, & no auto thefts. Of course the accuracy of these figures depends on the folks that are doing the reporting, but as has been mentioned, they get funding from the Feds that is based on the stats so underreporting makes no sense to me.

uh

[BusySocialWorker]

Just thinking out loud...but in my experience with offenders, they often end up residing in the area they were incarcerated in (typically sioux falls in SD). The other main jails in the state are in other larger towns - helping account for some of their higher numbers.

You also need to look carefully at the offenders - folks are listed on the CR for various reasons and variuos seriousness of offenses - for example - statutory rape and indecent exposure vs Class 1F rape or child sexual assualt.

I do notice that in the college towns in SD there seem to be more of the less serious offense such as indecent exposure (gotta love the alcohol and party scene).

Another thought is - do people (parents mainly) press more charges in cases that involve statutory cases here in a more rural conservative area... I see lots of young tweenty year old males with contact with 16-17 year old minors.... just a thought...

After moving back from Denver, we feel VERY safe here.. no where else we would want our family to grow up

[mok9698]

Hello it is me again i was reading what you said and you are right there is alot of registered sex offenders here but if you look (not saying it is right one way or another) but some where when they people were yound and alot are also from other states, so not all from here. Just did not know if you noticed that on the info pages of the sex offender list.
If you need any more info or have any other questions i would feel free to answer any that you may have.
I dont know about you but i am so glad that technology now days lets us see who the offenders are so we can try to stay safe and keep our kids safe also.
have a great hoilday season.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
mok9698

[viking1221]

I'm getting sick and tired of people referring to all sex offenders as monsters; uncurably diseased perverts who lick their chops and fonddle themselves as they stare across the street at elementary schools. I'm 30 years old. When I was 19 I had a 16 year old girlfriend. I was living in Minnesota at the time. We sat at the dinner table one night with her parente and talked. Her parents asked us if we had been intimate. We had; and we told them the truth. The police showed up. They asked me if I had sex with her. I told them the truth. This was at a time when I had never heard the term " Sex Offender". I've been registering as a sex offender ever since. I was classified as non-predatory (not-likely to re-offend). I was given 3-5 years probation. I complied with my probation and was released from supervision after 3 years. That was in 1999. In late 2001 I moved from Minnesota to North Dakota. My fiance and I were expecting our first child so we moved to a bigger place. While living in Minnesota i was working in North Dakota. I lived on one side of the river and worked on the other side. It was walking distance. Anyway, when I moved to North Dakota I went to the police station to register like I had been doing for years. I gave them the address of my job and when I told them how long I had been working there, they told me I needed to register when i was hired. At the time I did'nt know I could be registered in two different states at the same time. The judge allowed me time to witness the birth of my first child, but as soon as he was born, due to a minimum mandatory law, I had to report to a county jail and stay for 90 days, missing the first three months of my sons life. I know it was worse for my fiance (who is now my wife). Not only did I get three months in jail and nearly lose my job, but I got another six years tacked onto my registration compliance. I should have been done last month, but now I'll be registering as a sex offender until I'm 36 or until they change more laws and have me for the rest of my life. I've never been in any other trouble than this. In fact I just got my first speeding ticket going 65 in a 60 while finally taking my wife to the Vikings game I promised her the day I asked her out. And now here we are, expecting our second child in June; her grandmother wants to give us her house...but it's too close to a school. Look, what I did was wrong. If I had a 16 year old daughter, I'd want somebody's head too. But if I'm a level one and a guy who stalks a girl at a Victoria's Secret, kidnaps, rapes, murders and buries her in his grandmother's yard is a level 3, then tell me, what the hell is a level 2! Everybody hears the word sex offender and they run into their houses and lock the windows and doors like a Casper the friendly ghost cartoon. Last Iheard, 86% of registered sex offenders in North Dakota were guys in situations similar to mine. We're not all monsters. I'm not a monster. I'm a good father and husband. I'm a hard worker and a kind and generous person. I dont think the world owes me anything, but I think I've paid for my crime. But now my family is paying for it. Why should my son not be allowed to live close to school? Is his safety worth less than any other kid at school? No way. He's the best kid I know. But his dad's a sex offender. What does that mean? I don't even know. If a sex offender moves in next door to me, what does that mean? Is he a level 2? What does that mean? Is it ironic that I worry about stuff like that? Or doesn't it matter to the rest of the world and their shiny clean closets what happens to MY children?

[Jammie]

Viking, I'm SO sorry for what you have been through. Stories like yours make me mad that they don't separate the offenses. If you'll look at some of the posts on this site, maybe even on this thread, you'll see that most of us realize that some sex offenders are not a danger to anyone, but were in situations similar to yours. We have friends who are considered offenders just because they were a bit older then their girlfriend and they're a danger to no one. You'd be surprised how many of us don't feel that it's fair for a certain class of offenders to have to continue registering, live a certain distance from schools, etc. What you've been through is defnitely not fair and something in the law needs to be changed.