ND oil field workers strain law enforcement in MT

BILLINGS, Mont. — As thousands of workers and their families move to North Dakota's Bakken oil field in search of jobs, nearby rural Montana communities' resources are being pushed to the limit.

Housing, education and infrastructure are top government concerns regionally. But after the recent disappearance and apparent murder of Sidney high school teacher Sherry Arnold, communities also are looking closely at law enforcement.

"We have a lot of activity now in this part of the state," Sidney Police Chief Frank DiFonzo said in early January. "It was slowed down and more rural, and it's changing and I don't suspect it's just here. All communities on this end of the state are starting to see a pretty good change."

Sidney Mayor Bret Smelser recently met with representatives of the city of Williston, N.D., and the Williston Economic Development Project group, who estimate Williston's population will grow to 40,000 from 14,700 because of the oil boom.

Sidney is expected to double its population to 10,000. Smelser expects the growth in the next two to five years.

The Sidney Police Department has 10 officers with plans to hire another in March. The Richland County Sheriff's Office has eight deputies, including the sheriff, with one open position.

The city and county will need more officers to handle the growing demand for enforcement, Smelser said.

"The problem with the city is just the revenue stream isn't there," Smelser said. "It's a balancing act of maximizing our resources in the best possible way, and I think we are doing that."

Susan Quandt, chief of police in Fairview, about 12 miles northeast of Sidney, said the department's calls increased 35 percent from 2010 to 2011 and continue to rise.

Just as the number of calls have increased, so has the crime.

"Theft, burglaries of cars and houses — they have all gone up," Quandt said. "And fights — of course, those don't result in the involved parties wishing to have police involvement, but we still get called to them."

Fairview is right on the border of North Dakota and Montana in Richland County, about 35 miles southwest of Williston.

The Fairview Police Department has three officers, including Quandt. The increased calls for service along with more traffic issues have exhausted resources.