Lock 'em up: South Dakota is the parade marshal of United States' world-leading incarceration rate for women

Bar graph:  Prison Policy Initiative

Headline:  South Dakota Searchlight, 12/4/2025

Seth Tupper reports:

No other place in the world incarcerates women at a higher rate than South Dakota, according to research by a prison-focused nonprofit, and the construction of a second women’s prison in the state could be viewed as a continuation of that trend.

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.”

Prison Policy Initiative (above and below)

48% of inmates in South Dakota prisons are American Indian.

 

54% of inmates in South Dakota jails are American Indian.

12.2% of South Dakota's population is American Indian.