Crime in North Dakota down; attorney general pushes for sentencing reform as violent crime remains high

BISMARCK — Crime in North Dakota is at a low not seen in more than a decade, but the state’s top law enforcement official continues to

push for a law requiring violent criminals to serve larger portions of their sentences,

noting violent crime remains high.

North Dakota recorded 42,594 offenses last year, according to a report released Tuesday, July 7, by the North Dakota Attorney General’s Office. That’s about 7% down from 2024 and an 18% decline from 2021, which had an all-time high of 51,784 crimes, according to the state office.

Last year’s total crime number is the state’s lowest since 2014, when state officials reported 42,968 offenses. Crime per 100,000 residents was 5,323 in 2025, down from 6,682 in 2021 and 6,348 in 2016, according to the office.

“We have some modest declines, but they are declines,” North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley said during a press conference in Bismarck.

Wrigley’s office collects crime data from all law enforcement agencies across the state. Some statistics in the 2025 report are “less alarming,” Wrigley said. He focused on violent crime, which declined 3% from 2024 to 11,913 offenses last year, the report said.

The report defined violent crime as murder, manslaughter, assault, intimidation, stalking, kidnapping, abduction, sex offenses, commercial sex acts, involuntary servitude and robbery.

The 2025 numbers are at a five-year low; law enforcement agencies reported 12,246 violent crimes in 2021. Last year’s numbers are 22% higher than 2016’s report of 9,787.

Violent crime hit a high in 2023 with 12,601 offenses, according to Wrigley’s office. He described the last five years as a “plateau.”

Overall, the increase is a “dramatic failure” that is not being addressed, he said.

“We have to ask ourselves: Is this an acceptable new norm?” Wrigley asked.

Crimes against persons uses a federal definition that only includes murder, manslaughter, rape and assault. North Dakota had 11,765 offenses last year, down 3% from 2024 and 2% from 2021. Last year’s numbers are up 23% from 2016.

The state reported 1,472 crimes against persons offenses per 100,000 residents last year, down from 1,556 in 2021 but up from 1,267 in 2016, according to the Attorney General’s Office.

Wrigley used the press conference to argue for “truth-in-sentencing” reforms in North Dakota. The attorney general has twice proposed legislation that would require certain offenders to serve a portion of their sentence in a prison, instead of being released to minimum custody or transitional facilities.

During the 2025 legislative session, the North Dakota House killed Senate Bill 2128. The legislation

would have required

violent criminals, drug traffickers and sex offenders to serve at least 50% of their sentences before qualifying for early release. The bill in its original form also would have set minimum sentences for simple assault against law enforcement, fleeing and preventing arrest.

The bill attracted lengthy debate through the session, with opponents saying it would clog prisons and cost the state more money. Transitional facilities help inmates develop skills that allow them to return to life outside prison, ultimately reducing recidivism, according to North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Director Colby Braun.

Wrigley promised to push for “truth-in-sentencing” and more transparency surrounding decisions to release inmates and recidivism rates, calling current policy a “fundamentally flawed system” that needs to be corrected.

Wrigley noted Minnesota requires certain offenders to serve two-thirds of sentence before they are released. Other states have eliminated parole boards, he said, though he added he wasn’t suggesting North Dakota dissolve its own.

Releasing repeat offenders early, Wrigley said, is not acceptable to victims and law enforcement.

“It has to be corrected on behalf of the victims in the state, the ones who have already been victimized and the victims who are to come,” he said. “There needs to be integrity in sentencing.”

Property crimes have dropped dramatically over the last decade, from 26,082 in 2016 to 19,135 last year (27%), according to the Attorney General’s Office. Crimes against society — prostitution, drug and weapons violations, and child sex abuse material cases — also have trended down about 6%, from 12,427 in 2016 to 11,649 last year

Wrigley noted a “troubling” trend in driving under the influence numbers. Last year, law enforcement arrested 4,618 motorists on suspicion of drunken driving, up 14% from 2021, according to Wrigley’s report.

That’s still down 15% from 2015, when the state had 5,406 DUIs. The increase over the last five years is disappointing since North Dakota has spent time educating the public about the dangers of drinking and driving, Wrigley said.

“It can’t be ignored at this point,” he said.