By the end of the year, Minneapolis police officers will be required to report more details about the people they stop and search, including their race. These data will be used to ensure that stop-and-frisk tactics are not unfairly targeting people of color.
This new policy was developed following recommendations from Minneapolis’s Police Conduct Oversight Commission, a civilian advisory group. Earlier this year, the group studied a sample of police stops and discovered officers rarely documented the race of the people they stopped or the reasons for conducting a search.
The change comes months after the University of Minnesota’s decision not to release the race of suspects in crime alerts unless there is sufficient detail to help make an arrest.
Additionally, Minneapolis joins New York City in developing policies to track police activity. Earlier this month, the New York Police Department established new guidelines on when officers should use force and instructions for how to track its use. An adoption of a similar policy could improve the Minneapolis Police Department’s new rules even further.
We applaud the MPD’s steps to eliminate biased policing and to improve trust between police forces and communities of color. Additionally, we commend the police responsiveness to civilian concerns. Cooperation between officials and the community is the best way to reduce police brutality and racial profiling and to promote safer neighborhoods. We urge other cities across the nation to follow Minneapolis’ lead in fostering dialogues and developing progressive police policies.
