Crime down in Fargo, but overdoses at record high
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Fargo, N.D.’s downward trend in crime is accelerating. Crime fell 10 percent last year compared to 2024, following a decrease of almost 7 percent the previous year.
The Fargo Police Department’s new numbers show a drop in most categories of crime, including rape and aggravated assault.
Police Chief Dave Zibolski pointed to national trends in crime as well as the department’s use of the “Real Time Crime Center,” which allows it to monitor public security cameras.
“The Real Time Crime Center … has been a real game-changer in terms of our ability to solve crime, either faster or solve crime that we may not have even solved previously because of that intelligence information,” he said.
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While property crimes like burglary and robbery are down, shoplifting has surged by 28 percent. Zibolski said the department is trying to work with businesses on preventative measures.
“If we get to a point where we have more resources in the department, we would maybe be able to work with some of those stores on those issues, but we have a good working relationship at this juncture,” he said.
Record overdoses and mental health calls
At a press conference with reporters Monday, Zibolski said overdoses in 2025 hit their highest level in the five years the city has been tracking them.
“We had a total of 169 overdoses in 2025 — 29 of those were fatal,” he said. “There's nothing in the last five years even close to this 169 number.” He added that there were 108 overdoses in 2024.
Zibolski said most of the overdoses involved meth or fentanyl.
“We really focus on narcotics, and somehow this stuff is still getting into our community and being utilized,” he said. “Enforcement is one piece of it, but there has to be something significant on the’ how do you treat addiction’ side of the house?”
He also called for a “valid mental health facility for people with chronic issues” in response to the rise in calls related to mental health received by the department last year.
“We have folks in our city, in our area, who have chronic-enough issues that they are unable to properly address them on their own,” he said. “That's something I know that DHS is working on, in a sense, but we really need some help with that here in our Fargo area, because our officers deal with this routinely and regularly.”
“Not good for them, not good for the people who suffer from these mental health issues, not good for the community who deals with some of this, and when we talk about fear and crime and all that, has also an adverse effect on their perception,” he added.
In a city-commissioned survey released earlier this month, 38 percent of Fargo residents said they think the police department has insufficient resources for handling mental health issues. Answering a separate question, 61 percent of Fargo residents said they feel safe in their neighborhoods.
