Minneapolis Police Now Required to Record Race, Gender in Traffic and Other Stops

Minneapolis police officers will begin including race and gender when conducting suspicious vehicle stops, suspicious person stops and traffic stops.

Police have added a mechanism in squad car computers requiring officers to enter the demographic data of the individual involved in the interaction and the basis for that interaction before they can clear the call.

Police will be required to recored demographic information during:

• Suspicious vehicle stops
• Suspicious person stops
• Traffic stops
• Truancy calls
• Curfew calls
• Attempted pick-ups for individuals wanted for criminal activity

“In the interest of transparency, we will be analyzing and publicly releasing this data quarterly. The goal is to provide more information and context to data sets that community members may be interested in. Capturing this information will not only increase our Department’s procedural justice efforts, we hope it will further increase and promote trust and legitimacy with the communities we serve,” Chief Janeé Harteau said in a statement.

Police say change comes after many conversations that included the Police Conduct Oversight Commission, the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, the Chief’s Citizens Advisory Council and the Minneapolis Police Federation, according to a news release.

The data that will be gathered by officers will not only include demographic information and the basis for the interaction, it will also include whether a search was conducted and what demographic information was provided by 911 callers to dispatchers.

Image: Tony Webster via Flickr /Creative Commons