Sheriff, jail administrator outline jail population, turnover and training costs

The Brookings County sheriff opened the March 17 meeting with a brief overview of the detention center before introducing jail administrator Andrew Erickson to update the commission on population and staffing. "52 inmates at the present time. 23 of those 52 are Brookings County inmates," Erickson said, and described the mix of inmates including US Marshals and other counties' detainees. Erickson and the sheriff discussed weekend storm impacts on operations and proactive weather monitoring by emergency management.

Erickson addressed staff turnover and retention, noting that national turnover is high but that local figures are better: "When you're looking at it, in the past year, we're at about 40%... If you count just those promotions or if you take those promotions out, our turnover's really only at 26% for this last year," he said. Commissioners asked about onboarding costs; sheriff and Erickson described training timelines — including 12 weeks of field training for correctional officers and up to several months for deputies — and cautioned that recruitment and promotion create continued openings. The commission received the report with no formal action beyond discussion and staff follow‑up.