Despite claims that law enforcement has become progressively less discriminatory in its practices, arrest rate information published by the Minnesota Planning Commission has come to show otherwise. Data collected in 1999 (the last year for which data was collected,) indicates astounding discrepancies in the arrest rate between whites and non-whites, and the magnitude of these discrepancies clearly suggest that discriminatory law enforcement practices exist.
In accordance with the Census Bureau, Minnesota Planning uses white, African American, Native American, and Asian as racial categories. Although these four categories certainly do not include all races represented in Minnesota, they are the only four recorded and reported in county arrest rates.
Arrest rates for whites and Asians in Minnesota present very few disparities. African American arrest rates show more discrepancies, especially in urban counties where the black population is greatest. But the most astounding discrepancies are with the Native American population.
Native American reservations span seventeen different Minnesota counties, most of which are located in the rural, north central part of the state. Some of these counties reflect appalling arrest rates of this population. In Cass County, for example, Native Americans make up only 11.5 percent of the population, yet account for 54.9 percent of the arrests. When these crimes are broken down, the discrepancies become even more blatant. Native Americans in Cass County represent 68.18 percent of those arrested for assault, 78.26 percent arrested for vandalism, 65.52 percent arrested for disorderly conduct, and 77.78 percent arrested for motor vehicle theft. Cass County, however, is not alone. There are twenty-four counties in Minnesota, over one-fourth of the state's total, which arrest Native Americans at rates of four or more times their represented population.
Project Goal: Eliminate racial disparities and injustices in Greater Minnesota.
Objective: Provide citizens in Greater Minnesota with increased knowledge of the Bill of Rights, and access to litigation for civil liberty violations.
Strategy: Expand the Public Education and Litigation Programs to Greater Minnesota.
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