BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – Crime in North Dakota dropped in 2025 for the second year in a row, according to the state crime report released Tuesday by the Attorney General’s Office.
Violent crimes dropped about 3%; crimes against property dropped 12%; and crimes against society, such as drug and weapons offenses, dropped about 3%, the report shows.
Attorney General Drew Wrigley said that while the statistics reflect “modest declines,” the overall number of violent crimes in North Dakota is higher than the state reported 10 to 12 years ago.
Violent crime, which includes murder, manslaughter, assault, sex offenses, among others, increased from about 8,800 incidents in 2014 to more than 12,000 incidents per year from 2021-2024.
“We have to ask ourselves, is this an acceptable new norm?” Wrigley said during a press conference Tuesday.
Incidents of violent crime fell to about 11,900 last year, the lowest level of violent crime reported in the state since 2021, according to the report.
The crime report used data provided by 53 county sheriff’s offices, 149 local police departments, 10 joint task forces and the North Dakota Highway Patrol.
During the news conference, Wrigley renewed his call for policy changes to criminal sentencing requirements. He criticized the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for letting inmates out of prison early.
“It is not acceptable to law enforcement who arrest the same individuals again and again and again, most frequently when they’ve been let out well in advance of the sentence that was given by a co-equal branch of government, the judiciary,” Wrigley said.
Lawmakers last year did not advance a proposal from Wrigley he referred to as “truth in sentencing,” which would have required offenders to spend more of their sentence behind bars. Wrigley said he plans to work with lawmakers to bring another proposal in the 2027 session.
The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation defended its practices in a statement Tuesday. Department Director Colby Braun said the bill considered in 2025 would have cut off access to rehabilitation programs.
“Because approximately 95% of the individuals sentenced to our custody will eventually return to North Dakota communities, rehabilitation is a critical component of public safety,” the department said. “We utilize validated assessment tools to classify individuals and develop case plans that address factors proven to reduce future criminal behavior.”
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