A Perfect Storm in the Bakken Oil Fields of North Dakota and Montana

• In Event: Energy Development and Crime in Rural America

Abstract

This exploratory study, funded by National Institute of Justice, describes the perceptions of 185 professionals and community members residing in the Bakken oil field of western North Dakota and eastern Montana. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of the oil industry on domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking. Qualitative study findings note the dramatic increase in use of illicit drugs in the Bakken, which created a perfect storm that enhanced interpersonal violence. This drug use greatly influenced the work of corrections’ officials and law enforcement personnel who were working under difficult conditions. For example, jails were either full or under construction; and, treatment for drug use, historically limited in the rural and remote communities, resulted in law enforcement officials providing long transports to treatment facilities or jails. The isolated nature of the Bakken, combined with the increase in drug use, created a perfect storm to exacerbate interpersonal violence. The increased stress on law enforcement was shared by domestic violence advocates, human service providers and health care providers. This presentation will describe the context of drug use as it related to an increase in domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking in the Bakken oil fields.

Author

• Thomasine Heitkamp, University of North Dakota