Minot Organized Crime Case Study

With population growth come inevitable problems. Western North Dakota, especially Minot, has been experiencing major growing pains since 2009 when the state struck liquid gold: oil. Minot is no longer the quiet, comfortable community it once was rather it has transformed into a hybrid of small town values and big city problems. Awakened by severe issues like skyrocketing drug use, unprecedented crime rates, and blatant prostitution, the police cannot handle the issues alone, and communities are unable to act quickly enough to combat the issues that do not directly affect them. New legislation must be enacted to stop the booming business of crime.

Undoubtedly, the rapid acceleration of crime including drug trafficking and violent crimes is

due to the mass migration into Western North Dakota. This so called modern “Wild West” has created a huge dilemma for the police; moreover, the police departments in Minot, Williston and other Bakken area towns cannot find enough workers to staff their task forces.

In an interview with CNN, Detective Lieutenant Mark Hanson spoke about the police shortage,“‘It’s a rat race every day, and the rats sometimes win. We're almost to the point of being overwhelmed, and a lot of times we are’”(qtd. in Ellis). In Watford city there were only 25 911 calls to the police in 2008, and in 2011 that number jumped to an astonishingly high 3,938 (policing the patch). While the police all over the state scramble to battle this problem the crime rate just keeps going up. In the 2012 North Dakota Crime Report, violent crime rates are at an all time high and up 2,500 since 2010 (source). While these numbers may still be relatively small compared to other U.S. cities, North Dakota is not used to these issues. Not only has the crime rapidly increased but so has the drug trade. Drugs are a constant battle around the country and the new reality in North Dakota. In an interview with NPR, Sharon Cohen of the Associated Press discussed the use of major drugs in North Dakota, “But now you see a different kind of meth. Most of it is coming from Mexico, often through the West Coast - maybe

California, Washington State - and it's being transported into North Dakota.” Cohen continues to discuss the difficulties in finding and prosecuting dealers because of the population growth and the movement of multiple drug cartels into the region. These prairie towns are prime candidates for drug traffickers because of all the people with lots of money and little to do (Oil is Not All That’s Booming). Although the small towns of North Dakota cannot keep up the growing number of issues, police and government are trying to what they can despite being understaffed and overworked. At this stage of disorder it is all about keeping the worst under control.
Unfortunately the problems in Western North Dakota are more complex than rising crime rates. Since the beginning of the Bakken boom prostitution and sex trafficking have been becoming a larger part of the problems facing the the Western part of the state which is why such a large part of the paper will be dedicated to the issue.
Harsh winters and endless prairies are usually what comes to mind with North Dakota, but not anymore. North Dakota is now just as synonymous with oil and single men as it once was with a sleepy farm towns. Along with the massive number of young men who have moved into Minot, has come the prostitution industry. The concentration of young men in Minot has risen by nearly 5,000 in the past three years, and there are now over 100 men for every female in Ward county (United States Census Bureau). Not only does this demographic foster a sense of insecurity in young women, it has also become a breeding ground for sex crimes. Many of the kind-hearted small town individuals are shocked by this radical change in behavior. Owners of the Roosevelt Hotel in Watford City were shocked when they discovered two prostitutes working out of their building. “‘We don’t want a reputation for that,’” co-owner Bethany Devlin exclaimed in an interview with the Bismarck Tribune (qtd. in Donovan). Long-time North Dakota citizens are struggling to come to terms with the reality that big city problems have arrived. Unfortunately, all the money being poured into the economy from the oil does not outweigh the harm the people that come with it are having on communities and victims of sexual exploitation.
Millions of people are forced into the sex trade at a young age and bound to a life of endless abuse.

Although historically Minot has not had to deal with these problems, it is now seeing massive increases in advertisement of sex for money and human trafficking cases. “By 2 p.m. on a recent Tuesday, Backpage.com in Minot listed 64 escort ads posted that day” stated an August 2014 article in the Minneapolis based Star Tribune. Shockingly this number was only a dozen shy of the total ads posted in Minneapolis/St. Paul area (Louwagie). This has become a huge problem in other, more rural areas with little action being taken to prevent it. Ads soliciting sexual services are being posted online by girls from their teens to their early twenties. Even more devastating is the fact that many girls with ads are as young as 14 and are coerced into this life by pimps. Windie Lazenko, an aid worker in Williston, was only 13 years old when when she was sold into prostitution (Boyce and This is Life: Filthy Rich). Lazenko, now 30, moved to Williston short-term to help work with the growing issue of sex crimes but has ended up staying and working for a cause that hits so close to home. She somberly stated in an interview with CNN, “In the whole entire state of North Dakota, I am the only one, so far, that is providing direct services to victims of sex trafficking” (qtd. in This is Life: Filthy Rich). Prostitution is not going away; moreover, it is alarming to know that it is happening right

here in Minot. Sex trafficking has always been a problem around the world, but it is the dramatic increase in victims in this community that has made it much more disconcerting over the past few years. Community members are beginning to see the changes, yet still not enough is being done to stop the crimes that take away the innocence of hundreds everyday in our own community.
Women involved in the sex industry are some of the biggest victims of the oil boom. It is not just women who have been trafficked or sold into prostitution that are the concern but all women being exploited including women working as dancers and strippers at clubs in Minot and Williston. There are stories from women who can make over $1000 in one night just by dancing for men who have nothing to do and money to spend (Collin). Although on the outside there may seem to be a difference, all men and women working in the sex industry are facing a life full of hardship and whatever can be done to stop it needs to be done.
Throughout the Western part of the state, police are scrambling to restore order to the United States’ modern wild west. State leaders are pushing for more resources, yet it does not seem to be doing anything. All forms of law enforcement are having a difficult time battling an issue that is so new to the area. One parole officer from a study done by UND concerning the policing issue on prostitution stated, “Crime has changed in several ways. One difference is the amount of prostitution. The motels will call and officers respond to the calls, but we do not have time to do “stings” or help combat the problem proactively (policing the patch).” Sadly, victims of the sex industry are very difficult to deal with because of the emotional trouble they face. Prostitution is especially complicated because it is prosecuted as a crime, but those convicted of the crime are rarely at fault. For the first time in decades the police have busted a prostitution ring.