(FARGO) – In recent weeks, crime in the metro area has come into focus, with several high-profile violent crimes occurring across Fargo, Moorhead and West Fargo.
Captain Bill Ahlfeldt, who leads the Fargo Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division, said Thursday that crime in Fargo appears to be stabilizing.
“In 2022, in most cases, we were up on everything,” Ahlfeldt said. “There was a significant drop in 2023 in crime.”
Downtown Fargo crime
Ahlfeldt said that August 2024 saw the lowest crime reported, which he calls ‘quite exceptional’ considering it’s a month when a lot of people are downtown.
He said cases, ranging from theft to aggravated assault, were down – albeit not down a considerable amount. In August 2022, 219 crimes were reported downtown; in 2023, 205 were reported; and in 2024, 192 crimes were reported.
Downtown Fargo safety
Ahlfeldt said he has heard a lot of the discussion about people not feeling safe in downtown Fargo.
“That’s a complex issue of a lot of things,” he said. “We’re talking about homelessness, and we’re talking about individuals with mental health.”
With regards to mental health, Ahlfeldt said the police department has a role in, but they also work alongside other entities within the city and metro area – and they all work in unison to address the solutions.
But statistically speaking, Ahlfeldt said the numbers look at downtown Fargo being a safe area. He points to targeted efforts downtown and proactive policing as being reasons for the decrease in crime in the downtown area.
“We put even more efforts in than what we have had in the last couple of years to our downtown area,” he said.
Specifically, from May through September, a number of resources within the police department helped to do increased foot patrol in the towntown area.
Intelligence-led policing, targeted patrols
Additionally, Ahlfeldt pointed to directed and targeted patrols, along with intelligence-led policing, as factors in decreased downtown crime.
“We know the bad actors that are committing the crimes. We know the areas that might be a little bit more higher crime, or there might be some type of an issue that could contribute to higher crimes occurring,” he said. “We’re putting boots on the ground where that’s happening. And that’s not just in downtown, although we focused a lot of effort in downtown Fargo, and the numbers are showing that working.”
Ahlfeldt said the city’s intelligence and analysis unit’s work to pinpoint areas of the city that need focused on, and individuals, as well, is leading to the reduction in volent crime.
Violent crime in Fargo
Ahlfeldt said the City of Fargo is ‘right around the same as they would have been’ in the last three years when it comes to shootings.
“We have six or seven shootings, meaning someone has been shot criminally in 2022 and 2023,” he said. “We’re tracking to be right in track with that for 2024, obviously human nature being what it is.”
The unknown variable is what could be happening over the next several months.
The number of shots fired cases, meaning someone hasn’t been hit, has increased this year.
“That’s all the more telling us that we should increase our efforts, which we are doing, to fight individuals who are violent criminals that are armed,” Ahlfeldt said.
Simple assault leads downtown crime
Ahlfeldt said the highest number of crimes occurring in downtown Fargo this year, and for the last several years, are simple assaults, which are misdemeanor level assaults.
There have been approximately 125 simple assaults in 2024 so far.
“This is your bar fight. This is two individuals having a disagreement, a punch causing pain,” he said.
The second highest crime occurring downtown is theft, followed by vandalism.
Drug violations and disorderly conduct are also in the top five types of cases occurring most downtown, according to Ahlfeldt.
