PIERRE, S.D. – The South Dakota Secretary of Corrections says recruiting new correctional officers in Sioux Falls is improving, but retention is still an issue.
That’s according to Sec. Kellie Wasco, who spoke to the House Judiciary Committee this morning (Friday).
Over the past couple of years, Wasco says starting pay for correctional officers has increased from about $17 an hour to $23 an hour.
She says 21 new correctional officers trainees are going through the corrections academy to work in the state penitentiary in Sioux Falls.
Wasco says the warden said that should help the staffing situation.
However, Wasco says there are still 91 openings, and the state pen’s warden has to mandate overtime to ensure the prison can cover shifts.
Fortunately, Wasco said that “Penalty Hill” is the only one of the eight correctional institutions with ongoing staffing issues.
Wasco has been on the job for about ten months.
She says she is looking forward to a new women’s prison in Rapid City.
Wasco says the current facility in Pierre was designed to hold 270 inmates, but has 500 instead.
The Secretary also said the state pen in Sioux Falls was built in 1881, eight years before statehood, and has “done its duty.”
