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  "description": "According to the Justice Center, South Dakota was one of 14 states where recidivism increased between 2011 and 2021.",
  "path": "/fact-brief-south-dakota-rate-recidivism-inmates/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-02T10:00:30.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.sdnewswatch.org",
  "tags": [
    "South Dakota News Watch Quiz - GigafactGigafact",
    "this one.",
    "50 States, 1 Goal: Recidivism Rate Trends Over the Past Decade",
    "2025 statistical report",
    "Thum on repeat offenders: ‘Incredibly frustrating’",
    "South Dakota News Watch",
    "Gigafact",
    "on the tipline",
    "Donate",
    "Share your thoughts on this story",
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  "textContent": "## Yes.\n\nSouth Dakota’s rate of recidivism – the percentage of convicted criminals who reoffend after already receiving punishment – is among the highest in the United States.\n\nAccording to the Justice Center, South Dakota was one of 14 states where recidivism increased between 2011 and 2021 when the state went from 42% to 50%. The Justice Center estimates that the state's recidivism costs $44 per person – the ninth highest rate in the country.\n\nSouth Dakota News Watch Quiz - GigafactGigafact\n\nThat puts South Dakota in the top 10 compared to other states, though differing definitions of recidivism make direct comparisons difficult.\n\nThe SD Department of Corrections started a program in 2024 called SAFER SD to ease the transition from prison to community with the goal of decreasing recidivism.\n\nSioux Falls Police Chief Jon Thum called the state's rate of recidivism \"incredibly frustrating\" during a news conference after an officer-involved shooting, saying officers \"seemingly arrest the same people.\"\n\n_This fact brief responds to conversations such as_  this one.\n\n## Sources\n\nThe Justice Center, 50 States, 1 Goal: Recidivism Rate Trends Over the Past Decade\n\nSouth Dakota Department of Corrections, 2025 statistical report\n\nKELO-TV, Thum on repeat offenders: ‘Incredibly frustrating’\n\n* * *\n\nSouth Dakota News Watch partners with Gigafact to publish fact briefs that refute or confirm a claim with supporting information and additional evidence and context. Send questions or feedback to _news@sdnewswatch.org_. Submit a question for us to answer on the tipline.\n\n****Support fact briefs.**** Help us fight misinformation by supporting fact briefs that refute or confirm a claim with supporting information and additional evidence and context.\n\n\n                            Donate\n                        \n\nShare your thoughts on this story\n\n_**South Dakota News Watch** is an independent nonprofit. Read, donate and subscribe for free at _sdnewswatch.org_.**Contact freelance reporter Michael Klinski:** michael.klinski@sdnewswatch.org._",
  "title": "Fact brief: Does SD have some of the highest recidivism rates?",
  "updatedAt": "2026-04-02T10:00:30.052Z"
}