DRUG ARRESTS BUCK THE TREND IN MANDAN

Drug-related arrests more than doubled in 2000 in Mandan over the previous
year, according to the police department's annual report.

But otherwise, crime in Mandan remains about the same, according to five
years of statistics.

"The crime activity has been fairly static," said police chief Dennis Rohr.

Over the last five years, the department has had an average of 1,211
reported crimes per year. In 2000, the number was close to that -- 1,208.

But one category in particular was an exception, the drug arrests. In 2000,
there were 137 arrests, compared to 63 in 1999 and 84 in 1998. There were
decreases in some categories, such as misdemeanor theft, so overall, the
crime rate -- comparing 1999 to 2000 -- only increased by 3 percent.

He said that during routine patrol stops officers are finding drugs more
frequently than before, and "we're seeing more meth."

He said officers are not doing anything differently during traffic stops.

"We have not come out and told officers that we're going to focus on
arresting individuals for (drug crimes)," he said. "Which is another reason
to suspect ... Since there isn't a focus that there is an increase (in
drugs) out there."

He said if this trend continues, Mandan eventually will see an increase in
other crimes because of drug users committing crimes to support their
habits. And he would expect increases in assaults, domestic violence and so on.

Other statistics in the annual report show that domestic violence and child
abuse calls continue to inch up.

There were 270 calls for service for domestic disturbances and 57 child
abuse-neglect calls. He said he's amazed that with all the resources today,
federal grant money, to combat domestic violence, it doesn't seem to be
helping here or elsewhere.

He said police also are being called on more often to help with troubled
juveniles. Police were called to help with curfew or truancy issues 360
times in 2000, compared to 64 calls in 1999.

Rohr explained that "schools are getting tougher with truancies."

Also, parents are asking for help more often, Rohr said.

He said police are "becoming more involved in controlling behaviors which
were traditionally handled by parents and schools." Rohr said, that for
example, the department will gets calls when a child is being verbally
abusive toward the parents or if siblings are fighting.

He said in some Mandan homes that parents have for some reason "lost the
authority or ability to handle problems that were handled by parents."

Overall, he thinks his department did a good job providing services and
handling problems in 2000.

The department received 55 letters of appreciation from citizens and 15
complaints. Of the 15 complaints, Rohr determined that 11 were unfounded.

For the four incidents that were founded, the four officers were talked to
by Rohr and given advice on how to better handle the situations. He said
none of the four incidents were serious enough to merit disciplinary action.

Rohr's explanation of those four situations.

An officer pulled a vehicle over because it had expired vehicle tags. The
woman explained she had ordered them and hadn't received them yet. The
officer wrote out a citation and told the couple that if he could afford
tags, they should be able to afford theirs. The woman's husband later
complained that the officer carried on like they had robbed a bank. Rohr
said the officer could have done more explaining and been less officious.

A kid on a school bus made some motion or signaling to a motorist. When the
child got off the bus an officer "chewed him out." Parents were concerned
that the officer did that in front of other people, other students. Rohr
said the officer's approach could have been different, "maybe that wasn't
the time and place to do it."

A person, who reported a theft, complained that after telling the officer
the suspect was still in the area, that the officer didn't leave quickly
enough to apprehend the person, that instead he continued to gather
peripheral information about the crime. Rohr said the officer probably
should have gone after the suspect instead of continuing to get information.

An officer called for a tow truck for a stalled vehicle. But a person who
was already trying to help the stalled motorist move the car got upset,
didn't want a tow truck sent and made comments to the officer about that.

The officer ended up making a comment to the upset individual -- something
to the effect that if the upset person "moved out of town, it would do
everyone a favor." Rohr said.

"Our officers are very, very good in dealing with people, critical
incidents, angry disruptive people. Good at talking people down and getting
the to cool down, " Rohr said.

In the 16 incidents in 2000 when officers used force while dealing with
people, no firearms were used. In most of the incidents, the officers used
physical force without a weapon. In the rest, pepper spray or a stun gun
was used.