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Attorney General urges clearer definitions as state violent-crime counts rise
Summary
The Attorney General's office told the Judiciary Interim Committee that North Dakota's definitions of 'violent crime' and recidivism need standardizing after an internal review showing a rise in violent-crime rates since 2014; the office urged lawmakers to set transparent outcomes and data standards for the sentencing, corrections and parole study.
The Attorney General's office told the Legislature’s Judiciary Interim Committee that lawmakers must settle how North Dakota defines violent crime and measures recidivism before drafting sentencing or parole changes.
Ms. Ness, an attorney with the office, presented the AG’s materials and said the state’s current reporting excludes many serious harms. "None of them is considered a violent crime under North Dakota state law," she said, referring to several examples of severe abuse and assault used in her opening remarks. She told the panel that since 2014 the rate of violent crime in North Dakota has increased about 30% and the number of violent crimes has increased about 40%.
The AG’s office clarified that a recent bill often described in public debate did not seek to require all violent offenders to serve 85% of their sentence; rather, Ms. Ness said, earlier legislation sought to expand the statutory definition of violent crime and to require some offenders to serve a greater share of court-ordered terms before parole consideration. "Senate Bill 21 28 never sought to have everybody who is a violent criminal spend 85% of all of their sentence in prison," she said.
Ms. Ness pressed the committee to adopt consistent, cited definitions for terms such as "recidivism," "inmate," and "time served," and to decide what outcomes they want the corrections system to deliver. She asked whether recidivism should count only returns to state prison, or include returns to county jails, other states or federal custody.
Lawmakers pressed for comparative data. Representative Brownberger asked whether North Dakota’s trends mirror national ones; Ms. Ness said she had not prepared a national comparison for the hearing and that the committee’s focus should be on state policies. She offered to provide the studies her office previously shared during the session and to follow up with BCI's draft report when it is finalized.
The AG’s testimony framed a central committee choice: whether to broaden the statutory definition of violent crime, how to calculate recidivism and whether to prioritize sentencing 'truth in sentencing' or to preserve parole discretion. The office recommended clear, transparent reporting of definitions and source citations to support legislative decision-making.
The committee asked the AG’s office to supply the studies and datasets cited in the presentation; Ms. Ness pledged to follow up with more documentation and to answer members’ questions individually.
