South Dakota tribe building new law enforcement center, jail

Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate groundbreaking comes as other communities mull how to handle corrections, justice centers

Sisseton Wahpeton tribal leaders break ground on new law enforcement center. (EAPC Architects Engineers)

The Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate broke ground on a new law enforcement center Wednesday, bringing a state-of-the-art facility near a new jail that is also under construction in northeastern South Dakota.

The new law enforcement center at Agency Village, South Dakota will be 28,000 square feet and located adjacent to the 25-bed detention center. The jail “is designed to inspire safety, trust, and collaboration across tribal, state, and federal law enforcement agencies,” according to EAPC Architects Engineers, a firm with offices in the Dakotas, Minnesota and Arizona. The firm designed the law enforcement center.

The building features secure operational spaces and is located next to the 19,000-square-foot detention center. That facility is nearing substantial completion. The jail and law enforcement center will give the Lake Traverse Reservation a cohesive justice system to serve five counties in South Dakota and two in North Dakota.