DULUTH, MN (Northern News Now) – Duluth’s Racial Bias Audit team went before the Human Rights Commission Wednesday, discussing results from an audit about racial disparities within the Duluth Police Department.
The audit began in October 2022, shortly after the community called for a review on possible racial disparities within the department.
The audit, which was done by a Racial Bias Audit team made up of local volunteers, assessed the perspectives of Duluth Police officers and staff, and members of Duluth’s black, indigenous, people of color (BIPOC) community.
The team highlighted the Department’s efforts to increase recruitment and hiring, particularly with diverse candidates, improvements in bias and intercultural relations training, and improvements in its operational and data transparency.
However, the audit noted a big area of concern, racial bias in traffic stops.
The project manager with the Bias Audit Team says half of them were concentrated in four areas in Duluth, mostly in the Downtown area, Central Hillside, East Hillside, and Lincoln Park neighborhoods.
The report found that police officers were more likely to pull over BIPOC community members compared to white community members during two types of traffic stops, suspicious vehicle and equipment violations.
Audit members say findings like these, where they see evidence of racial disparities, bring to light areas of concern within the city’s police department.
The audit team is hoping that these informational public meetings will be the next step into building a stronger community.
Two more public meetings will be held over the next month:
Wednesday, August 23, Hosted by the Duluth Citizen Review Board at City Hall Room 330 from 5:30 – 7 p.m.
Thursday, September 7, Hosted by the Family Freedom Center at 310 N 1st Ave W Ste 108 from 7 – 8:30 p.m.
(from Northern News Now)
