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Pennington County Gets Grant To Plan Alternatives To Jail

Associated Press0

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — Pennington County in western South Dakota has received a $150,000 grant to come up with a plan to reduce the number of people jailed while awaiting trial or serving short sentences.

The grant is one of 20 awarded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to jurisdictions across the nation. Ten of those jurisdictions will be chosen to receive funding of $500,000 to $2 million to implement their plans.

Sheriff Kevin Thom says the county’s jail population has climbed steadily the past five years. The jail’s average daily population in 2010 was 155 inmates but climbed to 550 by 2014.

A 15-member committee including representatives from the offices of the sheriff, public defender and state’s attorney will develop the plan.

The county was chosen from nearly 200 applicants.

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