FBI arrest data · 2024
South Dakota Arrests
44,818 arrests were reported by 97 South Dakota law-enforcement agencies in 2024. The most common charge was all other offenses (exc. traffic) (17,280); 9.2% of arrests were of juveniles.
South Dakota arrests by offense
| Offense | Arrests | Share |
|---|---|---|
| All other offenses (exc. traffic) | 17,280 | 38.6% |
| Driving under the influence | 5,969 | 13.3% |
| Drug abuse violations | 5,959 | 13.3% |
| Simple assault | 4,990 | 11.1% |
| Disorderly conduct | 2,958 | 6.6% |
| Liquor law violations | 1,590 | 3.5% |
| Larceny-theft | 1,251 | 2.8% |
| Aggravated assault | 1,136 | 2.5% |
| Offenses against family & children | 884 | 2.0% |
| Vandalism | 545 | 1.2% |
| Vagrancy | 484 | 1.1% |
| Fraud | 423 | 0.9% |
| Weapons (carrying, possessing) | 345 | 0.8% |
| Burglary | 254 | 0.6% |
| Motor vehicle theft | 209 | 0.5% |
| Stolen property (buy/receive/possess) | 139 | 0.3% |
| Forgery & counterfeiting | 126 | 0.3% |
| Robbery | 65 | 0.1% |
| Sex offenses (exc. rape & prostitution) | 61 | 0.1% |
| Rape | 43 | 0.1% |
| Curfew & loitering | 29 | 0.1% |
| Embezzlement | 22 | 0.0% |
| Murder & nonnegligent manslaughter | 21 | 0.0% |
| Arson | 15 | 0.0% |
| Manslaughter by negligence | 15 | 0.0% |
| Prostitution & commercialized vice | 3 | 0.0% |
| Gambling | 2 | 0.0% |
| Drunkenness | 0 | 0.0% |
| Runaway | 0 | 0.0% |
| Human trafficking — commercial sex | 0 | 0.0% |
| Human trafficking — servitude | 0 | 0.0% |
| Suspicion | 0 | 0.0% |
Who was arrested in South Dakota
By sex & age
Shares of all South Dakota arrests.
By race & ethnicity
Agencies report race and ethnicity separately from the age/sex counts, so shares below are of the 40,376 race entries reported (32,297 ethnicity entries) — a different universe than the total above, which it can undershoot or occasionally exceed.
| White | 16,797 | 41.6% |
| Black or African American | 3,017 | 7.5% |
| American Indian / Alaska Native | 20,142 | 49.9% |
| Asian / Pacific Islander | 420 | 1.0% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2,527 | 7.8% |
South Dakota arrests by county
By the arresting agency's headquarters county — multi-jurisdiction agencies land in one county.
Largest agencies by reported arrests
| Agency | Type | County | Arrests |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sioux Falls Police Department | City | Minnehaha County | 8,218 |
| Rapid City Police Department | City | Pennington County | 6,265 |
| Pennington County Sheriff's Office | County | Pennington County | 4,145 |
| Highway Patrol | State Police | Hughes County | 4,115 |
| Pine Ridge Sioux Tribal | Tribal | Oglala Lakota County | 3,776 |
| Cheyenne River Tribal | Tribal | Dewey County | 2,856 |
| Aberdeen Police Department | City | Brown County | 1,436 |
| Watertown Police Department | City | Codington County | 1,358 |
| Minnehaha County Sheriff's Office | County | Minnehaha County | 1,187 |
| Mitchell Police Department | City | Davison County | 807 |
| Brookings Police Department | City | Brookings County | 680 |
| Sturgis Police Department | City | Meade County | 584 |
| Yankton Police Department | City | Yankton County | 514 |
| Lincoln County Sheriff's Office | County | Lincoln County | 471 |
| Box Elder Police Department | City | Pennington County | 466 |
| Pierre Police Department | City | Hughes County | 451 |
| Huron Police Department | City | Beadle County | 438 |
| Lower Brule Tribal | Tribal | Lyman County | 396 |
| Spearfish Police Department | City | Lawrence County | 316 |
| Sisseton-Wahpeton Tribal | Tribal | Roberts County | 314 |
| Brown County Sheriff's Office | County | Brown County | 303 |
| Vermillion Police Department | City | Clay County | 257 |
| Mobridge Police Department | City | Walworth County | 244 |
| Meade County Sheriff's Office | County | Meade County | 237 |
| South Dakota State University | University or College | Brookings County | 224 |
About this data
- Counts are arrests, not people. One person arrested twice counts twice; an arrest with several charges counts once, under the most serious charge.
- Reported agencies only. Figures cover the ~14,500 agencies in the FBI's 2024 Uniform Crime Reporting arrest (ASR) file — about 94–95% of the FBI's official national total, which additionally counts agencies that report only through NIBRS. Nothing here is estimated for non-reporting agencies, so totals slightly undercount and are not strictly comparable across areas with different reporting coverage.
- Location is the arresting agency's headquarters, not where the arrest happened. Multi-jurisdiction agencies (state police, sheriffs, transit police) concentrate in one county — county figures are approximate, and about 3% of arrests come from agencies that can't be placed in any county.
- Race and ethnicity are reported separately from the age/sex counts, and not for every arrest — race is reported for ≈95% of arrests, ethnicity for ≈81%. Shares here use those reported subtotals as denominators.
- No per-capita rates. Because reporting coverage varies by area, population-adjusted rates would mislead; we show counts only. Arrests measure enforcement activity, not crime rates.
Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, 2024 Arrest (ASR) master file. pumsdata is independent and not affiliated with the FBI. How our data works.
South Dakota arrests — FAQ
How many arrests were made in South Dakota in 2024?+
44,818 arrests were reported to the FBI by 97 South Dakota law-enforcement agencies in 2024. Actual arrests are somewhat higher, since not every agency reports.
What is the most common arrest offense in South Dakota?+
All other offenses (exc. traffic) — 17,280 arrests, 38.6% of the state's reported total.
How many juveniles were arrested in South Dakota?+
4,136 of South Dakota's 2024 reported arrests (9.2%) were of juveniles under 18.
Where does this data come from?+
The FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program's 2024 arrest (ASR) master file. Counts are arrests, not unique persons, from reporting agencies only. pumsdata is independent and not affiliated with the FBI.