In response to the rising crime that has followed the oil boom in North Dakota, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has announced that it will be opening a permanent office in the western part of the state. FBI officials stated that the new office is intended to offer “strong support” to the area’s law enforcement community in an effort to help them combat the rising tide of crime in areas in and around the city of Williston.
The oil boom that has occurred in this part of North Dakota over the last few years has brought tens of thousands of new residents into the area and with the influx of residents comes an increase in crime.
But the crime is not the typical fare of stolen cars or minor traffic violations. These crimes are more sophisticated than that, which is why the FBI was asked – and agreed to – take up residence itself in this previously sleepy part of the country.
Local law enforcement has found its communities infiltrated with everything from an increased number of homicides to organized crime to human and drug trafficking. According to agents scheduled to be posted at the office, the situation is serious enough to warrant federal help as it is not very often that the FBI opens satellite offices.
The Bureau is not sure exactly when the new office will open or where exactly it will be situated. It will, however, have four agents stationed there as well as an analyst and a full administrative and clerical staff.
According to Williams County Sheriff Scott Busching, the law enforcement community in western North Dakota is not looking for the FBI to save it from anything. Rather, they are “looking for help and support in quelling and eventually eradicating the rising tide of crime that has begun in this part of the state.”