Not in my backyard is prison mantra

If you’ve been following the news regarding the ongoing work the South Dakota Legislature, and more specifically, a select group of legislators and others assigned to a task force on the issue, has been doing on the issue, you know that the site for the new men’s state prison has been pretty much narrowed down to two sites. Both are in Sioux Falls, where the current men’s state prison is located.

Those locations, of course, come after the state wasted $50 million prepping a site in Lincoln County—about 25 miles from the current state prison—for the new prison. That site has now been abandoned after residents of the area mounted lawsuits and protests. Not in our backyard, they said.

Other locations pitched for the new prison included Mitchell, Worthing and even Box Elder. Those locations were also quickly scrapped, partly because, again, the residents of the area didn’t want the prison built near where they live. Not in my backyard, they said.

It turns out not many want a men’s state prison in their backyard.

Why do we say men’s prison? Because as we speak there is a women’s state prison being built in Rapid City, and nobody said much of anything about that. That prison is located on Creek Drive, just across East North Street from Rushmore Crossing. It’s actually in town and will be finished sooner rather than later, but nobody seemed to care about that one. Or at least, not enough to mount the opposition that has come with trying to relocate the state prison. We guess people believe men are more capable of escape from prison or are more dangerous if they do so.

Prisons are a lot like feedlots, mines, etc., in that we all acknowledge we need them, but everybody wants them somewhere else. We all want safe communities and acknowledge the need for prisons. Just not in my backyard. We all (well, not vegetarians and vegans) recognize the need for feedlots. But they stink. Not in my backyard. We all use items on a daily basis that require mining to extract the materials located within those items. Yes, we need mining. Just not in my backyard.

The fact of the matter is, the state prison has to go somewhere. While it does make sense to put it in Sioux Falls, especially since that’s where the bulk of the state prison workforce already lives since that’s the current location, people shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss having a prison put near their community. There were days where prison staff actually lived on the prison site (and that is likely still the case somewhere). Escapes are rare. The benefits of having a prison nearby—jobs, sales tax, benefits, etc.—are nothing to be scoffed at. There are probably many people out there who would trade their current neighbors for a state prison.

We are glad the task force has narrowed down the sites for the prison, and hope the state legislature will select the final site at its special session in September. It’s time to get the ball rolling on a much-needed new state prison. It has to go somewhere. Just not here.