Sioux Falls Violent Crime at 5-Year Low, Other Crimes Decrease in 2025
Published on March 03, 2026
Sioux Falls marked decreases across most major crime categories in 2025, notably a five-year low for violent crime per capita and a 26% decrease in property crime per capita from 2024 to 2025. The data was shared by Sioux Falls Police Chief Jon Thum, who was joined by Mayor Paul TenHaken, Minnehaha County Sheriff Mike Milstead, Minnehaha County Chief Deputy Jeff Gromer, Minnehaha County State’s Attorney Daniel Haggar and South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley during a public safety press conference on Tuesday.
The public safety press conference has been held twice per year to provide an overview of annual and midyear crime statistics and trends from the Sioux Falls Police Department, as well as efforts by partner law enforcement agencies to maintain and enhance public safety. Tuesday’s public safety update will be the last for TenHaken as mayor.
“For eight years now, the safety of this community has been one of my top priorities,” TenHaken said. “Upholding public safety while managing record population and overall community growth during that time has been incredibly challenging yet rewarding. We would not be where we are today, passing a growing, thriving and safe city to the next administration, without the leadership of Chief Thum, his entire team of dedicated professionals and the collaboration of our county and state law enforcement partners.”
From 2018 to 2025, during TenHaken’s administration, Sioux Falls’ population grew by an estimated 37,500 new residents. With the increase in people came an increase in calls for service, which reached 130,532 in 2025, and an increase in total crimes committed. Importantly, however, crime per 1,000 residents in Sioux Falls has remained steady over the past decade. Violent crime per capita is at a five-year low, and property crime per capita declined in 2025, decreasing 32% from its peak in 2023.
In 2025, violent and property crimes decreased across every major category, including homicides, aggravated assault, aggravated domestic assault, robberies, rapes, burglaries, larcenies and vandalism. Stolen vehicles saw the largest decrease, with 905 stolen vehicles reported last year, down 34% from 2024 and down 43% from its peak in 2023.
The police department attributes the decreases, particularly for stolen vehicles, to targeted messaging, community response, proactive enforcement, advanced technology and collaboration with other law enforcement agencies, like saturation patrols.
“As a city and region, we’ve made tremendous progress in maintaining low per capita crime rates as our population grows; however, we know crime will always ebb and flow,” Thum said. “We have shown that collaboration, leveraging technology and encouraging the community to take ownership of their individual roles in public safety is the way we can respond to those fluctuations effectively together.”