State, county, and city law enforcement leaders are seeing a surge in activity in Sturgis along with the swelling population due to the motorcycle rally.
At Monday’s news conference, Sturgis Police Chief Geody Vanderwater, Meade County Sheriff Pat West, and South Dakota Highway Patrol Assistant District Three Commander Zac Bader shared the latest crime and safety statistics from the first weekend of the rally.
Vandewater reported a total of 246 arrests and citations so far. Among those are 32 DUI offences and 22 felony drug possession charges, both up from this same period last year.
“We’re averaging anywhere from seven to 12 a day, probably, so we’re still seeing misdemeanor and felony drug possessions,” said Vandewater.
The Meade County sheriff echoed this increase with 16 DUI offences since Friday, which is twice the number from this time last year, but he says major crime is lower than expected.
“You get three, four or five hundred thousand people that want to come to Sturgis. We realize most of them are here on vacation and want to have a good time. There’s a few people who get in trouble. Mostly we’ve been seeing drinking and driving and drug arrests. That’s been the big thing but the overall major felony crime seems to be low right now so that’s a good thing and overall people are being well behaved and enjoying themselves,” said West.
West says his office has handled 588 calls for service over the last three days, a jump of 49 calls compared to this point in 2024.
Authorities say they will continue releasing daily updates, with a full report expected after the rally wraps up.
You can read the full article at KOTA TV.