While Jason Stugelmeyer, a 24-year veteran of the force, applauded the department for its positive momentum, he aims to improve efficiencies where possible.
"I'm not the kind of guy who says something's OK because that's the way we've always done it," he said. "But I don't have any big plans to make changes just to make changes. Overall, I'd say we're in a pretty good place."
Since he was appointed to the role on July 22, he has been involved in strategic planning sessions with other city department heads and an outside consultant. The meetings are intended to help shape the entire city's focus going forward, Stugelmeyer said.
"But there are things that I think we can take and apply specifically to the department," he said. "Obviously, there will be minor adjustments right away, but we need to be strategic about any major adjustments or improvements."
One area that has Stugelmeyer's attention is officer wellness.
"There will be a focus on the mental health and well-being of our officers, which we have improved but can always be better," he said. "If our officers are healthy our citizens will benefit from it."
HOW WILL BISMARCK PD USE MORE AI, DRONES AND INFORMATION SHARING?
Stugelmeyer wants to increase the use of the technology, specifically as it relates to the generation of reports.
Axion, the vendor that provides body-worn cameras, offers a platform that would let an officer create a narrative that can be uploaded into a report-generating system, he said.
"Our testing shows that it saves on average nearly 20 minutes per report," Stugelmeyer said. "You take that across the whole department, where we generate more than 10,000 reports in a year, and that's a lot of time."
While the American Civil Liberties Union — an organization that works across the country to defend civil liberties — has opposed police departments' adoption of software products that use AI specifically for report writing, Stugelmeyer said Axion's program has a built-in safeguard intended to ensure the accuracy of reports before they're submitted.
That program is included in this year's departmental budget request, he added. Preliminary numbers for the 2026 budget have already been presented to the City Commission. So far, the upcoming budget "gives us everything we need," Stugelmeyer said.
The incoming chief also wants to focus more on sharing information with other agencies, which already takes place in some instances. The sharing of information goes into a platform known as "intelligence-based policing" and does not have to be limited to just other law enforcement agencies, Stugelmeyer said. He hopes to use his relationships with other departments to increase collaboration.
He also wants to increase the use of drones to help with officer safety. As of now, drones are used by a team of six who have gone through specialized training to operate them, supporting patrol, traffic and investigative units. They also partner with specialized teams, including the West Dakota SWAT Team and the Bomb Squad, during critical incidents.
Community presence and engagement is something Stugelmeyer would like to increase, especially as it relates to the public's understanding of the role of law enforcement and public safety.
"That's hard to do," he said. "Citizen police academies are great, but they're limited because you can only have so many people in a classroom."
Stugelmeyer said that in his opinion, operations within the department are "doing very well."
"The officers are working hard at garnering public trust and enforcing crime at the same time, which is a monumental task," he said.
But the addition of a second full-time crime prevention and community engagement officer is a positive step, Stugelmeyer said. In announcing the addition, he said a recent meeting with department commanders reviewed the formation of a new program known as the Focused Area Response Effort (FARE).
The program's goals are to proactively address crime and community concerns in high-need areas using short-term deployment of resources from across the department.
That approach is a departure from a typically more responsive approach to policing, due to the size of the community, and is another step toward increasing community engagement and collaboration with residents, Stugelmeyer said.
"We can’t be everywhere and we need to rely on citizens to report issues as they see them," he said. "We can’t do it alone."
That approach is already in effect in some respects, as Stugelmeyer said the department is utilizing a DUI team that patrols areas of high probability for people driving under the influence. A recent campaign in conjunction with other agencies resulted in a large number of arrests.
He also said social media can often feel like a limited place to increase engagement, as responding to negative comments on posts is "counterproductive" to the department's goals.
Among more immediate changes, Stugelmeyer will have to appoint his own replacement. Since 2022, he has been the deputy chief in charge of field services, which comprises seven sections within the department: patrol, traffic, parking enforcement, warrants, investigations, animal control and specialized units — which includes the bomb squad, crisis negotiations unit and K-9 unit, among others.
Choosing a person to replace him in field services means a current lieutenant will move up the organizational chart, and that promotion will in turn create opportunities for others, Stugelmeyer said.
HOW WAS STUGELMEYER PICKED AS THE NEWEST POLICE CHIEF?
The Bismarck City Commission on July 22 appointed Stugelmeyer to replace retiring Chief Dave Draovitch. Stugelmeyer assumed his new duties Friday, taking command of an agency that encompasses 166 employees, 136 of whom are sworn law enforcement officers, and has a 2025 base budget of $18.3 million.
His appointment followed an application process that found him emerging as a finalist along with Daniel Weigel, a patrol commander with the University of North Dakota Police Department in Grand Forks.
A Bismarck native, Stugelmeyer is a 1996 graduate of Bismarck High School. He attended Bismarck State College and holds a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Minnesota State University Moorhead.
Since 2022, he had served as commander of the department's Field Services Division, which is comprised of seven sections including patrol, traffic, parking enforcement, warrants, investigations, animal control and specialized units — including the bomb squad, crisis negotiations unit and K-9 unit, among others.
Prior to joining Field Services, Stugelmeyer served as commander of Support Services, which handles a number of responsibilities including professional standards, recruitment and training, evidence management and management of the department's budget and grants, in addition to other duties.
Before he assumed that position, Stugelmeyer served as a patrol officer, patrol sergeant, detective and lieutenant.
In 2007, Stugelmeyer was named the department's Officer of the Year. He is a two-time winner of the Meritorious Service Award in addition to being a three-time Badge of Hope winner, and was on the West Dakota SWAT team for 15 years.
Stugelmeyer and his wife are the parents of three adult children, all of whom are graduates of Legacy High School.
OTHER QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Q: What kind of relationship should the department have with the homeless community?
A: We treat all of our citizens the same regardless of their situation or who they are. We need to have enhanced knowledge of additional resources that help connect that vulnerable population to services. One of our sergeants works closely with Ministry on the Margins and is very responsive when they have questions or concerns with their facility. We also partner with non-governmental agencies to better serve that community, and I am involved with that on a monthly and sometimes weekly basis.
Q: What are your views on use of force?
A: Use of force guidelines are well established by federal, state and local laws, which align with our policies. If there are changes, we are alerted by CALEA (Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies) and adjust policy as required. We follow those well-established guidelines in the performance of our duties, and officers are held accountable if they do not.
Q: Reviewing call logs every day, we see a lot of people getting booked for what might be considered nuisance offenses such as trespassing, failing to appear and driving under suspension — not just by BPD but a variety of agencies. Is that something that's chronic, or possibly changeable in some way?
A: Nuisance offenses are what affect quality of life for many citizens and we have to be responsive to that. Failure to appear is actually a bench “warrant” in which a judge has ordered a person into custody because they failed to show up for court when required. It’s a judge’s order, so we must make an arrest and most of them must be seen by a judge before being released.
Trespassing typically stems from a person not leaving the property when asked, or was formally served a trespass notice from that place of business. Taking action on those charges is essential for the person or business that expects us to do our job and remove someone from private property that has no right to be there.
DUS is an epidemic in the city. Most people that drive under suspension don’t have insurance either. When we investigate crashes involving someone that does not have insurance, the insured party ends up being responsible for the whole incident, if it’s their fault or not.
These are not major crimes, but they do affect many law-abiding citizens that don’t want to be responsible or harmed for someone else’s recklessness or irresponsibility.
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