Capital Improvement Projects: Sioux Falls Police to Add Two New Locations by 2026
By the Year 2026, the City of Sioux Falls will have both a Eastside and Westside Police Report to Work Station to Better Service the Community.
As part of the Mayor's Capital Improvement Program, $3,600,000 million dollars was set aside in future revenues with the intent to establish two Law Enforcement Report to Work Stations.
The current Sioux Falls Law Enforcement Center opened after intense project programming in order to house both the Sioux Falls Police Department and the Minnehaha County Sheriff Department. The 110,000 square foot building features a wide variety of amenities including administrative offices, an evidence storage with walk in freezer and room to handle explosives, a fitness center, a co-ed locker room with 360 lockers, a heated garage to house 43 vehicles, a repair shop, a secured impound area, a decontamination area, a front desk with bulletproof glass, a state-of-the-art officer training center, a media conference room, an indoor firing range, and a K-9 unit.
Today, it is staffed by 316 sworn and civilian staff members, and is currently reaching its full capacity for staff. With a fast growing city, the need for more space, parking, and storage remains a constant focus, and that has been reflected in the current C.I.P budget over the next four years, as the current mayor and city council has placed within the budget, two new locations to begin operations by the year 2027.
The first location, the Westside Report to Work Station is projected to open by the year 2026, of which the City of Sioux Falls has already entered into a five year lease agreement to utilize the property owned and managed by Dabbert Properties LLC at 4000 W. 57th Street on the corner of Technopolis Drive. Scheduled to open in late 2025 or early 2026, the building will provide for approximately 20 officers, 12 patrol cars, and associated support equipment. Not only will it become the City's Southwest law enforcement center for the area, it will also serve as a meeting place allowing officers to meet with victims, and to interview suspects. Estimated Retrofitting costs are budgeted to costs for project #10008 would be $1,500,000 dollars.
Back in 2018, During the recent mayoral election, a lot of focus by all candidates was on public safety and the Sioux Falls Police. Mayor Paul TenHaken campaigned on his plan to fight crime. Part of it has already been implemented with the formation of a Narcotics Crime Unit (NCU) and during a recent interview for 'This Week in Politics' TenHaken told KSFY's Brian Allen he's working on something called 'Report to Work' Stations, as reported by Erika Leigh of Dakota News Now. Read the article HERE
"As the city grows our geographic footprint increases and with that growth we have to think of ways to effectively police and patrol the community."
Sioux Falls Police officers are currently assigned to 28 beats throughout the city, but as former Police Chief Matt Burns and the Mayor's Office agreed, it needs to plan for growth. A recent study recommended the development of report-to-work locations.
"It's where they would go to get their lineup information from their shift sergeant, where they would park their personal vehicle, change into their uniform in their locker room space, get their briefing from their shift sergeant and deploy from there. And they might also be able to drop off evidence that they might take in during the course of their shift from crimes they've investigated right back at that location."
As for the second confirmed location as per the Capital Improvement Plan is concerned, the Eastside Report to Work Station would be located on the corner of 41st Street and Faith Avenue, or next to newly built Fire Station #12 which opened this past summer. The city has already bought and paid for the land, and discussions to begin building a 4,000 to 8,000 square foot building is in the plans to begin sometime during the year 2026, projecting to open by 2027 or sooner, upon work being completed. Officers, Patrol, and Personal Vehicles would be transferred to this location, of which will free up much needed space at the main Law Enforcement Center Downtown Sioux Falls. This location will allow officers to work out of their quadrant area, without the need to travel back and forth, saving time, and necessary manpower, and like the Westside location, will also act as a facility to meet with victims, and to interview suspects. Assigned project #10007, this particular project will cost the taxpayers of the city $2,100,000 dollars, $100,000 being set aside for 2025 for design plans, with construction to follow in 2026.
For a city of which has adopted the following purpose as stated:
The Sioux Falls Police Department partners with the community to serve, protect, and promote quality of life. Officer training emphasizes a public servant mindset with a strong understanding of and commitment to justice. The department’s primary role is to enforce the law, maintain order, and prevent crime through community oriented policing, which establishes collaborative partnerships among law enforcement and the individuals and organizations they serve.
As Mayor Paul Ten Haken stated in his 2023-2027 Capital Improvement Plan, the next five-year Capital Program continues to focus on investing in the public safety and health of our residents and the community, while facility needs continue to be a priority for the Sioux Falls Police Department, relieving growth pressures for the downtown Law Enforcement Center.
The City of Sioux Falls, under the current mayor, has shown a great deal of commitment to Public Safety in recent years, first by investing $50,000,000 in the new Police and Fire Academy, by continuing to add police officers on an as needed basis, and soon, by adding two newly acquired regional law enforcement centers in the southeast and west corners of the city.
"Each day, millions of police officers do the selfless work of putting their lives on the line to protect civilians, frequently responding to or preventing crises completely with no recognition."
