Beadle County Crime & Safety

Beadle County has a total crime rate of 984.9 per 100,000 residents, based on FBI Uniform Crime Reporting data. This includes both violent crimes (188.6 per 100K) and property crimes (796.3 per 100K).

Beadle County has a safety score of 57/100, rated "Average". A higher safety score indicates lower crime rates relative to other counties nationwide. It ranks #52 out of 66 counties in South Dakota for safety (1 = safest).

The county's safety score of 98.4 is just slightly below the South Dakota state average of 98.8. Its total crime rate of 984.9 is higher than the state average of 788.1, indicating more local activity.

Property crime is the most common issue at 796.3 per 100K, while violent crime remains low at 188.6. Both categories stay well below national benchmarks of 2,015.7 and 369.8, respectively.

Crime data for Beadle County comes from the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program. Local law enforcement agencies submit data on violent crimes (murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault) and property crimes (burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft) to the FBI. Rates are calculated per 100,000 residents to allow fair comparison between counties of different sizes. The safety score (0-100) is derived from these rates, with higher scores indicating safer counties.

Beadle County has a safety score of 57/100, which is below the South Dakota average of 73/100. Many counties with above-average crime rates invest in community policing, crime prevention programs, neighborhood watch initiatives, and social services aimed at reducing crime over time.