By Brandon Bennett
STURGIS– Preparations for the 86th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally from the law enforcement perspective are coming along.
Even so, Meade County News sat down with Public Safety Director Geody VanDewater and Meade County Sheriff Pat West to get the lowdown on things.
“Things are going good with the preparations, we’ve got extra deputies, extra corrections officers and dispatchers lined up, just tweaking the schedule, looking at what it’s going to be like early on with the rally starting later,” he said.
“Were sitting pretty good,the status quo for us, we’re actually going to be short on some full time officers due to resignations that have affected us, we probably won’t have time to get someone hired between now and rally, said Director of Public Safety Geody VanDewater.
Both agencies have contact with the “alphabet soup” of government law enforcement and haven’t heard anything out of the ordinary but still are vigilant.
There are a couple of factors that weigh in on their radar, like the price of gas and the fact that a growing number of visitors want to avoid the crowds and come early.
“I don’t think we’re going to see the big influx of visitors but some venues will have bands and other events that attract people,” he said.
VanDewater added there seems to be a trend of vacationing closer to home as opposed to taking a long trip.
The Meade County Sheriff’s Office covers a lot of ground, out to Faith and the I-90 corridor going to Rapid City.
Sheriff West said there’s more.
“The Faith Stock is going on at the same time and so we’re going to be busier than normal,” he said.
West also relies on part time deputy John Rhoden who helps out in central Meade County and helps at the jail too.
Additionally, Meade County has contracts with Perkins and Butte counties to house their inmates so opening up the original jail is necessary,.
On advantage for both officials is the close relationships they have with both police departments and sheriff’s offices in the region sharing intelligence and information.
“We do a coordination meeting with all of our state and local and federal partners and we’ll start that this week, going over manpower, staffing issues and even from the standpoint of health and even weather,” said VanDewater.
He added the South Dakota Highway Patrol is crucial in relieving pressure on other officers during an accident. Likewise the Department of Criminal Investigation conducts criminal inquiries, freeing up police officers.
Both men stated they’ve relied on each other over the years and have developed a good relationship.
When it comes to incarceration Sheriff West said they have agreements with ten different counties.
Both officials stressed that if Western South Dakota doesn’t get any rain the potential for fire is very real.
“We’ve responded to a lot of fires already and we’ve been fortunate they were small. But we could be heading for disaster,” said Sheriff West.
Chief VanDewater agreed that the heat can also compel people to drink more. So…
“So we’re having to deal with traffic violations and maybe DUI’s and then a fire? A smaller rally could actually create more issues for us.”
There is a burn ban in Meade County during the rally so hopefully visitors won’t ignore that and cause problems.
Sturgis Director of Public Safety Geody VanDewater and Meade County Sheriff Pat West
