FBI opening office in North Dakota oil patch

FBI opening office in North Dakota oil patch
By JOSH WOOD, Associated Press | November 14, 2014 | Updated: November 14, 2014 8:27pm

WILLISTON, N.D. (AP) — The FBI is opening a permanent office in western North Dakota's oil patch to help the area deal with rising crime that has followed the state's oil boom. A few things to know about the office and why it's being established:

WHY DOES WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA NEED AN FBI OFFICE?

The North Dakota oil patch was once a sleepy and remote corner of America. But the oil boom in recent years — brought on by advances in oil extraction technologies — has brought tens of thousands of new arrivals to the area and given western North Dakota the nation's fastest-growing communities. With the growth has come more crime — and more sophisticated kinds of crime.

Police have found themselves dealing with human and drug trafficking, organized crime and homicides.

The FBI currently has satellite offices in Fargo, Grand Forks, Bismarck and Minot. But in expansive North Dakota, those are all long drives. Agents cycle into the oil patch, but local law enforcement officials have said that's not enough and have pushed their representatives to secure more federal help.

The FBI doesn't open new satellite offices often: The last was in New London, Connecticut, in 2006, FBI spokesman Christopher Allen said.

More:
http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/FBI-to-open-permanent-office-in-ND-oil-patch-5893388.php