SIOUX FALLS S.D. (KELO) — The 14 homicides in Sioux Falls in 2024 are a record for the city dating back to at least the early 1970s. Nevertheless, Sioux Falls Police Chief Jon Thum stresses the relevance of trends versus one number.
“We understand that we’re big enough, but also small enough that a couple big incidents will have a big impact on numbers,” Thum said Monday.
While Sioux Falls has had 14 homicides so far in 2024, the city had only 2 in 2023, 7 in 2022 and 5 the year before that for a total of 28 since the beginning of 2021.
“For us to go from two and then to 14, to see a swing like that, I think part of it is just we’re really impacted by events, and it only takes a few events to move that number one direction or the other,” Thum said.
For example, the city’s 14 homicides in 2024 include three from one incident in early June. In this case, Justin Rackley was charged with the murder of three people.
Sioux Falls compares favorably to a pair of other cities of similar size in the upper Midwest. While Lincoln, Neb. has had 6 homicides so far in 2024, it has had 33 since the start of 2021. Des Moines, Iowa has had 14 homicides in 2024, but since the beginning of 2021, Des Moines has had 65 homicides: more than double what Sioux Falls has seen. And the city’s police chief says there has not been a jump in random crime; in other words, there’s no reason for someone walking down the street to have any increased fear for his or her safety.
“We’re not seeing a spike in events on random people or random interactions or things of that nature,” Thum said.
