Attorney General Wrigley releases 2022 crime report

BISMARCK, N.D. (KVRR) — According to North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley, certain crimes against persons have increased, while overall crimes against persons are down five percent from 2021.

He released last year’s crime stats Tuesday morning at the State Capitol in Bismarck.

Reported murders have seen a 76.5% increase, from 13 to 30 cases.

Negligent manslaughter and kidnappings have each seen a 30% increase, while rape trends have increased to just under twelve percent, 39 more reported cases compared to 2021.

He says too many people are becoming victims to violent crime.

“Every victim of a violent crime, a robbery, assault, murder, rape, home burglary. For them, the crime rate is one hundred percent. This is an ongoing, decade-long problem coinciding interestingly with the talk about, ‘we’re in an era of sentencing reform,’ people say. If this is what reform looks like, we need to reform the reform,” says Wrigley.

Wrigley referred to one bill he supports that would prohibit certain people from owning guns, which failed in the House.

“Violent crime, especially violent crimes being committed with firearms is rising and becoming more and more dangerous all the time in our state. There’s no getting around it. Resisting arrest, fleeing law enforcement is up dramatically. In the last week of the legislative session, you have two significant cases of police-involved shootings, people fleeing at one hundred miles per hour right here in this community,” he said.

He says his office will take accountability if violent criminals commit another crime after an early parole.

“Every violent criminal that gets a not long enough sentence to begin with and then only serves a portion of it and then goes out and commits another one of these offenses, that’s on us. That is on us because we didn’t make it mandatory that they be incarcerated while the public be protected,” said Wrigley.

Crimes against property which involve robberies and crimes against society which involve drugs and weapons have decreased eight and four percent respectively, compared to 2021.