North Dakota’s US Attorney has announced a new federal initiative to address violent crime in Fargo.
Mac Schneider says while Fargo has always been a great place to live, it has grown significantly – and with that, there have been new challenges to public safety. Since 2010, the population has increased 18 percent – and in the past five years, violent crime has risen 45 percent. And while Schneider says that sounds alarming, current trends suggest that increase is now leveling off, which means there could be an opportunity now to get in front of it. He says the US Attorney’s Office’s Strategic Assistance for Fargo through Federal Enforcement and Resources, or S.A.F.F.E.R. (safer) initiative, will do just that.
"As the Fargo area continues to grow in the coming decades, we have an opportunity, perhaps a time limited opportunity, to keep the genie in the bottle when it comes to violent crime - with the understanding that it's much easier to get a hold on violent crime before violent crime gets a hold on our community."
Schneider says the initiative has a three pronged focus; one – using local intelligence to target individuals driving crime in the area; two – aggressively prosecuting felons in possession of firearms, and those who own illegal weapons; and three – stopping gangs and other organized groups from establishing a foothold within the area.
Schneider says one new tool coming to Fargo to further these efforts is called NIBEN.
"When a firearm is discharged, it ejects a shell casing and that leaves unique markings on the casing - much like a fingerprint for a gun. NIBEN uses cutting edge technology to collect 3D images of spent shell casings recovered from crime scenes, and then through comparison of these images within NIBEN, investigators can link shooting incidents in which the same gun was used, and match the casings from one crime scene to a specific firearm. So in other words, somebody drops a shell casing in Minneapolis - they take the same gun over on I-94 up to our community and engage in a shooting again. NIBEN is a real crime solving tool when it comes to cases like that."
Schneider says NIBEN will be online in Fargo on June 25th.
The S.A.F.F.E.R. Initiative will involve collaboration between federal and local law enforcement partners.