The purpose of the Brookings County Sheriff’s Office is to provide protection to the citizens of Brookings County. This involves the prevention, detection, apprehension, prosecution, and detention of those persons who violate criminal, civil, state, or local laws. We provide assistance in emergency situations, medical distress, vehicle accidents, and animal control.
By contract, the Brookings County Sheriff’s Office provides law enforcement services to Aurora, Elkton, Volga, and White.
The office has 18 full-time and 1 part-time certified law enforcement personnel. This includes the Jail Administrator and Corrections Sergeant who are responsible for the Detention Center and 2 Deputies assigned to the Court House. The Sheriff’s Office also has 3 non-sworn civilian employees. The Detention Center is comprised of 17 full-time Correctional Officers, 16 part-time Correctional Officers, a full-time Nurse, and a part-time Nurse.
Law enforcement is only part of the work done by the Sheriff’s Office. The department also provides traffic and parking enforcement, welfare checks, emergency response, crime reporting, and investigative services. We maintain the criminal warrant file for the county, provide court security and transport prisoners both in and out of state as well as commitments to the Human Services Center in Yankton. We serve all court papers, including criminal, civil, protection orders, Executions of Judgment, and distress warrants.
The Detention Center, located at the Sheriff’s Office, has the capability of housing up to 84 adult inmates, both male and female. This includes work release and trustee inmates as well. The Detention Center is also responsible for the 24/7 Sobriety program, SCRAM Program, and GPS Monitoring Program.
Community programs such as Neighborhood Watch, D.A.R.E., R.S.V.P., and the K-9 Unit are also affiliated with the Sheriff’s Office.
To apply for a standard South Dakota Concealed Weapons Permit, please apply in person at the Brookings County Sheriff’s Office by either printing off and filling out an application from our “Forms and Resources” tab and dropping it off during business hours in the front lobby of the Sheriff’s Office or in the drop box in the front lobby of the Sheriff’s Office after hours. For Gold or Enhanced permits applications must be made during fingerprinting hours as fingerprints are required to complete your application process. All Concealed Weapons Permit applicants must have been a resident of Brookings County for at least 30 days, must be a citizen of the United States, and must have a valid form of picture Identification such as a Driver’s License, state-issued ID card or Passport.
The Detention Center offers civilian fingerprinting on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 12:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M. located at the Detention Center 24/7 Lobby.
There is a $10 fee to be fingerprinted. We accept cash (exact change), check, or money order. A picture form of identification such as a driver’s license, state-issued ID, or passport is required. The entity for which you are being fingerprinted may require specific fingerprint cards. If this is the case for you, please make sure to bring these, otherwise standard FD-258 fingerprint cards with the BCSO ORI will be provided to you.
For Enhanced Concealed Weapons Permits please review the handout you received from your Enhance Concealed Weapons course instructor and be sure to have the following with you: your certificate of course completion, your fingerprint cards, and a form of ID as described in the paragraph above.
For questions about fingerprints please call 605-696-8300.
The Sheriff is responsible for some forms of civil process. If you need civil process papers served to another party, you may drop them off to Sheriff’s Office Staff at the front lobby of the Sheriff’s Office. You may also mail them to us at 315 7th Ave ATTN: Civil Process, Brookings, SD 57006 or email them to us at bcso@brookingscountysd.gov. Please include as much information as possible such as who you need to have served, any recent addresses or contact info for them, any other identifying info such as birthdates, your name, phone number, address, and email address. If you are a Rental Owner or Landlord and need to have an eviction notice served, please provide us with your eviction notice or utilize our standard Notice to Quit and Vacate found in the “Forms and Resources” tab. Civil Process Fees are due up front for private parties and mileage will be billed after service is completed. Business or Rental Owners and Law Firms are not required to pay the Civil Process Fees up front and will be billed these fees along with mileage after service is completed. Civil Fees are as follows below:
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2024
***Payment by private persons, must be made immediately upon receiving paperwork. ***
Businesses and Law Firms will be billed upon service.
Mileage Fees and Schedule
$0.73 Per Mile or 8 cents above the state employee mileage rate per SDCL 7-12-18(4)
Standard Mileage for Surrounding Towns
• City of Brookings – 10 miles round trip, per trip.
• City of Aurora – 12 miles round trip, per trip.
• City of Arlington – 40 miles round trip, per trip (Brookings County Side).
• City of Bruce – 28 miles round trip, per trip.
• City of Elkton – 40 miles round trip, per trip.
• Lake Hendricks (SD Side) – 60 miles round, per trip.
• City of Sinai – 34 miles round trip, per trip.
• City of Volga – 14 miles round trip, per trip.
• City of White – 30 miles round trip, per trip.