Task force reacts to inmate assault reports

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The Division of Criminal Investigation is looking into reports of several assaults on the South Dakota State Penitentiary's campus this week. This latest incident concerns Project Prison Reset task force members for a number of reasons.
'Where we're at today, that opportunity for those inmates to injure a correctional officer exists, and we need to eliminate that,' South Dakota Republican Representative Greg Jamison said.
Jamison said Tuesday's reports reflect the challenges prison staff face when it comes to separating inmates inside the current men's prison facilities.
In a news release, Attorney General Marty Jackley says, ' Evidence suggests that the assaults are gang related.'
'One of the challenges with the prison is to separate those gang members or opposing gang members, if you will, so they never wind up in the same area at the same time because these fights are probably inevitable,' Jamison said.
South Dakota Republican Senator Jim Mehlhaff worries the current facilities are not safe for staff or prisoners.
'Just the design of it. Blind corners and dead ends,' Mehlhaff said. 'It's difficult to put prisoners where they need to be because of the overcrowding.'
The issue is what sometimes leads to inmate fights.
'Imagine you're in a space, as you can appreciate, in a crowded area, and all of a sudden you start pushing and somebody pushes back. It turns into a fight pretty easy,' Jamison said. 'That overcrowding piece has just got to get fixed, and the new prison is going to eliminate that.'
It's one of the task force's top priorities when it comes to building a new men's prison. Having more rehabilitation resources is important, too.
'We don't want to take people off the streets and just hold them indefinitely and put them back out on the streets to recidivate again,' Mehlhaff said.
'A new prison is going to be a safer place for the employees. That's one of the things I'm hopeful for and I'm looking for,' Jamison said. 'The current setup right now is not a safe place.'
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