Sioux Falls police to enforce school zones with extra patrols

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - The Sioux Falls Police Department will have extra officers on hand in school zones over the next couple weeks as students return to school.

Police will launch a school zone safety campaign on Monday, according to Sgt. Michael Olson. He said an extra six to ten extra officers per day will take part in the patrol, in addition to the presence of regular patrols and school resource officers.

In a briefing Wednesday, police asked drivers to be more attentive of school buses, particularly when their lights are flashing. They also asked drivers to be careful around crosswalks, and to be aware of parking rules around different schools.

“Give yourself extra time, because it’s going to be slow through those areas. You’re gonna have kids walking to school who are maybe new to those school routes,” Sgt. Andrew Siebenborn said. “I’ve got faith in our citizens, but we do write a number of tickets during these saturations. It’s been a tough year already, so don’t make it tougher on yourself and pick up a ticket you could easily avoid just by lowering that speed.”

The Sioux Falls School District begins classes on Thursday. Other private schools in the city, including O’Gorman Catholic Schools, returned to class last week.