Title 23 — LAW ENFORCEMENT

There is hereby established, in the Office of the Attorney General a Bureau of Criminal Statistics, hereinafter called the bureau. Source: SL 1939, ch 138 , § 1; SDC Supp 1960, § 55.15A01.

Annually, and at such other times as he may determine, the director shall prepare and publish reports reflecting the crime situation in this state, the operation of public agencies engaged in the administration of criminal justice and in the conduct of the punishment or treatment…

Every person having custody or charge of public or official records or documents, from which information is sought for the purposes of this chapter, shall grant to the director, or to any person deputized by him, access thereto, for the purpose of obtaining such information. A vi…

The bureau shall cooperate with the appropriate agency of the federal government and with similar agencies in other states, territories, and countries, toward the end of developing and carrying on a complete and uniform interstate, national, and international system of criminal i…

The Governor, and persons specifically authorized by the director, shall have access to the files and records of the bureau. No such file or record of information shall be given out or made public except as provided in this chapter, or except by order of court, or except as may b…

No rewards for the apprehension or conviction of any person or for the recovery of any property may be accepted by the director, or by any employee of the bureau, but any such reward, if paid to the director or an employee of the bureau shall be paid into the state treasury and c…

It shall be the duty of the clerk of every court, of the chief or head of every police department, or other police agency, of every sheriff and constable, of every prosecuting attorney, of every probation or parole officer, and of the head of every department or institution, stat…

It shall be the duty of all coroners to transmit promptly to the director reports and information, as required by the director, regarding autopsies performed and inquests conducted, together with the verdict of the coroner's jury. A violation of this section is a Class 2 misdemea…

This chapter shall be so interpreted and construed as to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law of those states which enact it. Source: SL 1939, ch 138 , § 17; SDC Supp 1960, § 55.15A16.

The bureau shall function through a director. The attorney general shall, by virtue of his office, be the director. The director shall have a seal of office in such form as he shall prescribe. The attorney general shall not receive a salary as such director. Source: SL 1939, ch 1…

This chapter may be cited as the Uniform Criminal Statistics Act. Source: SL 1939, ch 138 , § 19; SDC Supp 1960, § 55.15A17.

The attorney general shall assign for the work of the bureau such deputies and clerical assistants in his department as he may from time to time find necessary. The compensation of the clerical assistants assigned to the bureau and all other expenses of the bureau shall be paid o…

The director shall collect and compile information, statistical and otherwise, which will, as far as practicable, present an accurate survey of the number and character of crimes committed in the state, the extent and character of delinquency, the operations of the police, prosec…

The director shall also gather such information concerning particular criminal offenders as in his judgment may be helpful to other public officials or agencies dealing with them. A violation of this section is a Class 2 misdemeanor. Source: SL 1939, ch 138 , §§ 3, 15; SDC Supp 1…

The director shall promulgate classifications and shall prepare forms for the statistical classification of crimes, of offenders, of their punishment and treatment and of all other pertinent information, to conform, as far as practicable, with those promulgated by the appropriate…

The director, or any person deputized by the director, upon exhibiting specific written authorization by the director, is empowered to enter any prison, jail, penal, or reformatory institution in this state, and to take or cause to be taken fingerprints or photographs, or both, a…

The director shall file, or cause to be filed, all information received by the bureau and shall make, or cause to be made, a complete and systematic record and index thereof, to provide a convenient method of reference and consultation. As far as practicable all such records shal…

The director of the Bureau of Criminal Statistics may authorize the destruction of information and records of: (1) Persons who are dead; (2) Persons seventy - five years of age or older unless a violation has occurred within the last ten years; (3) Incidents that are no longer co…

Upon request therefor and payment of the reasonable cost, the director shall furnish a copy of all available information and of records pertaining to the identification and history of any person or persons of whom the bureau has a record, to any similar governmental bureau, sheri…