That's why Governor Dennis Daugaard says he's looking at alternative ways to get the number and spending down. State leaders from all three branches of government announced the creation of a workgroup to study possible ways to reform the criminal justice system as the prison population in South Dakota continues to increase.

The workgroup will study existing policies and see if there are any reforms, like community treatment programs, that could ease the amount spent on Corrections each year while maintaining public safety.

The governor says if the state doesn't do anything about the increasing prison population, the state will need to spend $36-million on a new women's unit and $90-million on a new men's unit within a decade. Over the last 30 years, the state prison population has increased by 500-percent.

Justin Pazera