North Dakota AG says 2023 statistics justify renewal of efforts to change crime law (2024)

When it comes to crime, North Dakota continues to be a "relatively safe state," in the words of Attorney General Drew Wrigley.

That said, during a Thursday briefing with reporters to unveil his office's 2023 crime statistics, Wrigley pointed to increases in certain types of offenses. He indicated that these increases would play a role in how the office approaches potential changes in state law during the next Legislature.

"In 2023, there were 49,515 Group A offenses reported by law enforcement all across the state of North Dakota -- that number is up from the 2022 figure of 49,488.Group A offenses are crimes such as arson, all assaults, burglary, narcotics violations, fraud, homicide, theft, human trafficking, vehicle theft, and weapons violations, and some others," Wrigley said.

"I want you to keep in mind something that's really important: that's only an increase of 0.05%," he added.

That percentage equates to 27 more people reporting being victimized in Group A offenses, but the total number of offenses in Group A also reflects an increase in crimes committed against persons, such as assault, which increased by nearly 3% from 2022,Wrigley said.

Other Group A offenses -- crimes against property such as burglary, theft and robbery -- fell by nearly 2.5% from 2022 totals, but Wrigley noted that the economic impact of those crimes is significant.

"We want people to keep in mind that represents $58.7 million of property and value taken from individuals in our state through burglary, robbery, theft, etc.," he said.

Also increasing year-over-year were crimes against society, which includes drug crimes and weapons violations, according to the attorney general.Those rose slightly more than 2% overall, but the biggest increase in that subset was in the area of narcotics arrests, which increased by more than 5%, Wrigley said.

"We are in yearslong trend lines up, so everything we see an increase on is an increase on top of increases that has been coming for the last many years. That's important to note," Wrigley said. "Because everywhere I go in the state, I hear about this. People recognize that something's changing in this regard in our state, and it's not changing for the better."

Another trend Wrigley called "disappointing" is the increase in DUIs and other alcohol infractions during 2023. The 4,329 arrests represent more than 22% of Group B arrests. Group B also includes offenses such as disorderly conduct, trespassing, nonviolent family offenses and liquor law violations. In 2023, Group B offenses accounted for nearly 48% of all arrests (14,017) made in North Dakota, and juveniles accounted for nearly 11% of that total, according to the report.

Wrigley said the data contained in the 173-page report was "the gold standard" as far as data collection is concerned because the numbers presented represent incident dates collected directly from local and state law enforcement agencies. Despite that data, he said, the numbers aren't complete because with the exception of homicides, the majority of incidents occurring on tribal lands aren't included, as those agencies don't make such data available.

Inside the report, data sets from all 53 county sheriff's departments and 50 reporting police departments include breakdowns of a wide variety of violent and nonviolent offenses.

Despite any perceived shortcomings, the report will be instrumental in how the state Attorney General's Office approaches the upcoming legislative session beginning in early January. Specifically, Wrigley said his legislative agenda will emphasize transparency, stiffer penalties and truth in sentencing as it relates to violent crimes and crimes committed by people using firearms.

"There's a bunch of crimes being committed, there's an escalation in violent crime, there's an escalation in drug trafficking in this state," Wrigley said. "And a lot of that comes from recidivism, (and) repeat offenders. Violent criminals, recidivism, protecting our communities, that's what is going to be focused on. That's what's going to be focused on, and it's all based on these statistics."

Wrigley during the 2023 Legislature pushed for new mandatory minimum sentences for gun-related crimes, resisting arrest and fleeing police, citing rising crime and concerns from law enforcement that repeat offenders were being released from prison too soon. Opponents of the bill cited the cost of sending more people to prison and the potential for a clogged court system and overcrowded correctional facilities. Senate Bill 2107 ultimately was gutted in conference committee, and it failed in the House on a 13-77 vote. Wrigley at the time vowed to push the legislation again in the 2025 session.

The 2023 report is available to the public and can be viewed or downloaded athttps://bit.ly/4exq5kj.