State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls
By: John Hult
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (South Dakota Searchlight) – The Department of Corrections has ended a lockdown that began 17 days ago at the state penitentiary in Sioux Falls.
According to a press release from department spokesman Michael Winder, the lockdown was a “proactive security measure” meant to ferret out contraband throughout its Sioux Falls facilities. The lockdown was not tied to an assault or disturbance, the press release says, and no staff or inmates were injured.
The facilities are “transitioning” off the lockdown, Winder said, which ran from Sept. 16 through Oct. 2.
Winder had previously sent a press release with photos of what the agency described as contraband.
The DOC has not said how many lockdowns have taken place in 2024. In response to a question from South Dakota Searchlight, Winder wrote Thursday evening that the DOC does not track lockdowns, their length, or their reason.
There were lockdowns following unrest at the penitentiary in March and at Mike Durfee State Prison in Springfield in June. The March incidents led to indictments for inmates and for people outside the walls who were allegedly involved in delivering drugs to inmates and plotting an arson.
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