Crime in Pierre, South Dakota

Pierre's crime rate

There were 448 crimes reported in Pierre, South Dakota in 2019, the most recent year crime data is available. Adjusted for population, the city’s annual crime rate is 3,196 incidents for every 100,000 people.

How does Pierre compare?

Pierre has a higher overall crime rate than the vast majority of U.S. cities. For comparison, the national total crime rate is 2,489 incidents for every 100,000 people.

Pierre's overall crime rate is 47% higher than the overall crime rate in South Dakota. Statewide, there were 19,197 crimes reported in 2019, or 2,170 for every 100,000 people.

What types of crimes are being committed?

The FBI's crime rate includes seven crime categories: three property crimes -- larceny, burglary, and motor vehicle theft, and four violent crimes -- aggravated assault, robbery, rape, and murder.

Property crime

The vast majority of crimes in America are property crimes, accounting for 85% of total crimes in 2019. In Pierre, property crimes also account for about 85% of all offenses.

Property crime is more prevalent in Pierre than it is nationwide. There were 383 property crimes in Pierre in 2019, or 2,732 for every 100,000 residents. Meanwhile, the national property crime rate is 2,110 incidents per 100,000 people.

Larceny

Larceny is by far the most common type of property crime in the U.S. It is also the most commonly committed type of property crime in Pierre. There were 318 larcenies reported in Pierre in 2019, or 2,269 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the larceny rate is 1,550 per 100,000.

Burglary

There were 42 break-ins reported in Pierre in 2019, or 300 for every 100,000 residents. For reference, there were 341 reported burglaries for every 100,000 people nationwide in 2019.

Motor Vehicle Theft

Across the United States, the annual motor vehicle theft rate is 220 for every 100,000 people. In Pierre, meanwhile, there were 23 motor vehicle thefts in 2019, or 164 for every 100,000 people.

Violent crime

Violent crime accounts for a relatively small share of crimes nationwide. These offenses, which are generally more egregious than property crimes, account for about 15% of the nearly 8.2 million offenses reported across the U.S. in 2019. In Pierre, violent offenses also account for a 15% share of all reported crime.

At 464 incidents for every 100,000 people, the violent crime rate in Pierre is above the national violent crime rate of 379 offenses per 100,000 people. Law enforcement in Pierre reported a total of 65 violent crimes in 2019.

Aggravated Assault

Aggravated assault is by far the most common type of violent crime reported in the U.S. It is also the most commonly reported violent offense in Pierre. There were 46 aggravated assaults reported in Pierre in 2019, or 328 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, the rate is lower, standing at 250 aggravated assaults per 100,000 people.

Robbery

Robbery is the second most common type of violent crime in America. There were 3 robberies reported in Pierre in 2019, a rate of 21 robberies for every 100,000 residents. For comparison, the national robbery rate was 82 per 100,000 in 2019.

Rape

There were 15 rapes reported in Pierre in 2019, or 107 for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, there were 139,815 rapes in 2019, a rate of 43 per 100,000 people.

Murder

There was one homicide reported in the city in 2019. Adjusted for population, the murder rate in Pierre is 7.1 for every 100,000 people, higher than the national murder rate of 5 per 100,000 people.

Pierre compared to other cities in South Dakota

Pierre has a higher crime rate than the vast majority of all comparable cities in South Dakota. To be considered comparable, a city must have a complete 2019 FBI crime report and population of 5,000 or more.

Here are all comparable cities ranked by total crime rate. Click any bar or city name to see more about crime in that city.

Click here to see a list of all city crime pages.

Click here to see a list of all state crime pages.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.