5/14/14

Sex trade, binge drinking, crime, STDs mar Rounds, Daugaard terms

Governor Dennis Daugaard (earth hater-SD) is a death panel of one.

Habitat destruction, lapses in ethics, scandal, crime spikes, increased incarceration rates, more people infected with sexually transmitted diseases, the failure of prisons, human trafficking: all mark the terms of Republican governors in South Dakota. The state leads the nation in the growth of violent crime.
Three years ago, prostitution was an afterthought for Sioux Falls police. There were six arrests in 2010: Four for prostitution, two for pimping. For more than a decade, federal law has defined those pushed into sex for money through force, fraud or coercion as victims, but acceptance of that definition within law enforcement has come slowly. The biggest formal change came last year, as U.S. Attorney Brendan Johnson convened a human-trafficking task force, which included law enforcement from the state Division of Criminal Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Sioux Falls police and the Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office. [AP, Pierre Capital Journal]
From KOTA teevee:
Human sex trafficking is happening right here in South Dakota. Nearly 100 people turned out to hear speakers teach about human trafficking and raise awareness about the problem in our area. Speakers included Brendan Johnson, the United States attorney for South Dakota, Brent Gromer, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, and Hollie Strand, a forensic interviewer for the Child Advocacy Center of the Black Hills. [Alexandra Montgomery, Human sex trafficking conference held; a problem in SD]
Under Republican governors Rounds and Daugaard, South Dakota has become an increasingly dangerous place especially to raise children. The state is ranked highest in the nation for teen binge drinking.

A recently released FBI crime report shows violent crime in South Dakota rose 96 percent between 2005 and 2012. State statistics put that figure at 44 percent. Krista Heeren-Graber, executive director of the South Dakota Network Against Family Violence and Sexual Assault, agreed that prevention can be difficult, especially with “limited” funding for prevention programs and crisis servicing. The number of meth labs and arrests also has been growing at an alarmingly high rate, authorities say. [Mark Walker, Sioux Falls Argus Leader]
Hardly surprisingly, South Dakota is being led into the dustbin of history by Republicans:
The crime rate has increased in only five states since 2007, the FBI said. The situation is getting worse in New Hampshire, where the rate is up 17 points in the last five years, and South Dakota, where crime is up 20 points over the same period. [Reid Wilson, Washington Post]
Meanwhile, crime rates in Colorado have fallen as legal cannabis generates high revenue.

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