North Dakota Attorney General Office 2022 data: Overall crime is down, violent offences are up, and drug crimes are down

(Bismarck, ND) -- The North Dakota Attorney General's Office released the 2022 crime statistics report Tuesday, showing an overall decrease in the total number of crimes, an increase in the number of some violent offenses, and a decrease in the number of drug related crimes. 

Overall, the total number of crimes is down in the data. The total number of crimes committed in North Dakota in 2022 was 49,615. Comparing all offenses committed between 2018 to 2022, the highest year was in 2021, with 52,165 crimes. The second highest is 2020 with 50,029 crimes, third is 2022, fourth is 2018 with 48,552, and fifth is 2019 with 48,166.

Data available through the Attorney General's Office shows murders and non-negligant manslaughter incidents increased from 17 to 30 between 2021 and 2022, or a 76% increase. Taking the average murder and non-negligant manslaughter incidents per year between 2018 and 2021 and comparing it to the 2022 year, it shows last year was above average for the number of incidents, 23.25 (2018-2021 average) compared to 30 (the number of incidents in 2022). There were also a 9.6% increase in aggravated assaults, and a 9% increase in simple assaults.

The data also showed a decrease in the number of drug related crimes. The report from the Attorney General's office shows drug and narcotic crimes decreased by 11% if you take the average number of incidents between 2018 and 2021 and compare it to 2022. This drop is even larger if you compare it to the 16% falloff in number of drug equipment violations reported in 2022. 

 You can read the data published by the North Dakota Attorney General's Office by clicking here.