Examining Interpersonal Violence in the Context of Boomtowns: A Case Study From the Bakken Oil Fields

Researchers studying the consequences of rapid population growth in communities experiencing resource-based development often report increased crime. The qualitative literature suggests that these crimes include domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking—but quantitative studies specifically exploring these crime types are less common. This study examined the prevalence of these types of interpersonal violence during the most recent oil boom in the Bakken region of North Dakota and Montana using victim-level data from the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)—finding significant increases in reports of domestic violence and a composite measure of interpersonal violence from 2004–2007 to 2009–2014, findings which are unique to agencies in the Bakken region, as well as significant increases in dating violence. The results highlight the importance of analyzing data that allow researchers to determine the relationship between victims and offenders, and the utility of publicly available data sources like NIBRS, for documenting the prevalence of interpersonal violence in boomtown communities.