The Final Report

Reducing Racial Disparity While Enhancing Public Safety

introductory excerpt

The racial disparity in Minnesota’s justice system is exceptionally high compared to other states. From arrest to imprisonment, the disparity is over twice the national average. Since the launch of its Racial Disparity Initiative (RDI) in 2000, the Council on Crime and Justice (the Council) has undertaken seventeen separate studies in a comprehensive effort to understand “why” such a large disparity exists here, in Minnesota. This report sets out the overarching key findings and recommendations that emerged from these seventeen studies.

The RDI studies consist of two independent but interrelated categories of research. The first category, Defining the Disparity, examined the causes of the racial disparities in Minnesota’s justice system. Thirteen studies were conducted under this category of investigation. The second category, Collateral Effects, examined the economic, social and emotional costs of racial disparities at the individual, family and community level. Four studies were conducted. The geographic areas involved in the RDI studies ranged from an individual neighborhood to the entire state.

Read the final RePoRt