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Totally agree with you fourwinds. The other thing so many of these stories coming out about the crime, is that they don't emphasize that most of these crimes are taking place at bars, strip clubs, house parties, etc... when you put a bunch of drunk guys and gals together, you are going to have fights, spats and domestic disputes. Other than the sad case in Sidney, your typical person living in places like Williston, Dickinson, Sidney, are NOT going to be attacked, robbed and assaulted. When you put yourself in the middle of "danger" or "no good", chances are you are going to get into some sort of trouble. Williston police report for the past year show some increases in some crimes, and decreases in others... but when you factor in the population growth...the crime rates have actually decreased. When you have a really small town that maybe had 2 bar fights and this year they have 10, crime increases 5 fold. Sounds really drastic, but really not such a terrible thing. Especially since most of the those involved in the bar fights were not innocent victims...it NORMALLY takes 2 to tango.
The per capita income in North dakota increased by 30% in just two years.
That is an absolutely incredible story, yet nothing is written about it because the journalists do not understand it. Few states have ever seen that kind of wealth increase in the history of the US.
Right now, ND is producing about 560,000 barrels / day. By 2016, that production will like triple to almost 1,500,000 barrels / day based on credible projections.
The only state that has ever experienced such a wealth increase with a low population base is Alaska.
By 2016, ND likely won't have income or property taxes. Businesses from Minnesota and elsewhere will almost have to relocate to benefit from ND's business environment as well as it bugeoning population.
The Bakken Basin will eventually have almost the same population as the Permian Basin, so there are 2-300,000 people yet to move to the basin that one day will live there.
ND is destined to become one of the wealthiest most prosperous states, yet the media reports on a crime problem that is statistically no different than what it was in the year 2000. Sure, the Williston police are busy, but gues what, when a population doubles, the phone calls to police double. When Minot was founded 130 years ago and it popualtion exploded from 10 people to 5000 people almost ovrnight, guess what - the Ward County sheriffs had issues with bar brawls and fights. To stop the fights, Ward County should never have been allowed to be settled, according to the logic of the press.
My point is: the bakken is th biggest blessing in the history of ND and it is causing some growing pains. The press is incapable of seeing the historical significance of what is happening, so they concentate on reporting the the pores and warts of Gulliver, not the giant himself.
The other point is that media reports like this tar and feather newcomers as crime prone and derelicts. Nothing could be further from the truth. People are moving to ND because they want a new chance to make a life by hard work. Most are God-fearing people that are no different than the settlers of the Great Plains from four and five generations ago. But the press then complained about all the drunken Norwegians in 1890 descending upon North Dakota.
These types stories just prove that journalists know nothing about math (or in other cases science or business).
The population has more than doubled, the number of crimes have increased, but the crime rate is stabl or actually lower.
Too many journalists are journalist because they failed basic elementary math.
Quote from the article:
Some law enforcement officials, including Valley County Sheriff Glen Meier, said the increase in crime has roughly tracked the increase in population, meaning the actual rate of offenses has been little changed.
"You have to put it into perspective. Ninety-nine percent of the people (working the oil fields) will be an asset to the community," he said.
According to the above quote, it looks to me like the journalist addressed the very issue you posted.
Do people really want to shoot the messenger every time there is a story about crime in the Bakken? Should we just stick our heads in the sand? It is what it is, regardless of any one individuals feelings or emotions. I guess the U.S. attorney for ND must have failed some elementary class work as well, otherwise why would he make this statement in the article:
The result, said Tim Purdon, the U.S. attorney for North Dakota, is that police are in "100 percent reactive mode, running from call to call."
"Local departments have been squeezed to the point where they're having trouble performing proactive police works. We don't have the time," he said.
___
Personally, I'm glad to see LE agencies from around the region taking the steps to get a handle on this issue - because it is a real issue that has to be dealt with - if LE did nothing, then the public would complain that they were doing nothing.
And another quote from the article:
"In the wake of Arnold's killing in the town of Sidney, which is quickly being overtaken by the boom, federal prosecutors began a two-day retreat Monday in Glasgow for about 150 police, sheriffs, federal agents and other law enforcement to craft a common strategy to deal with rising crime."
Headlines throughout the country imply that the crime rate in the bakken is like the inner city. Google crime and Bakken.
The headlines are simply gruesome.
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