# Dakota County Sheriff's Department *Sheriff's department of Dakota County, Minnesota; a participating jurisdiction in the 2003 statewide racial profiling study.* The Dakota County Sheriff's Department, the [[sheriff]]'s department of Dakota County, [[Minnesota]], was one of 65 jurisdictions in the [[Council on Crime and Justice]]'s statewide [[racial profiling study]]. The study was reported to the [[Minnesota Legislature]] in 2003.[^1] The study's figures are aggregated across all participating jurisdictions. It reported that Black drivers were stopped at 213.84 percent above the expected rate and searched at 154.69 percent above expected.[^2] Contraband turned up in 11 percent of the searches of Black drivers and in 24 percent of the searches of white drivers.[^3] The report concluded that there is "a strong likelihood that racial/ethnic bias plays a role in traffic stop policies and practices in Minnesota."[^4] The record names the Department as a participating jurisdiction. It does not establish the Department's own stop, search or contraband figures, and it does not establish any finding specific to the Department.[^1] ## Who The study was the Council on Crime and Justice's. It was issued as a report to the Minnesota Legislature.[^1] The Dakota County Sheriff's Department is listed among its 65 participating jurisdictions.[^1] ## What The study measured three things across participating jurisdictions: traffic stops, searches, and how often a search found contraband. In each case it compared drivers by race, as the study itself was keyed to race.[^2] For Black drivers it reported a search rate 154.69 percent above expected. It also reported a contraband hit rate of 11 percent on those searches, against 24 percent for white drivers.[^3] The study's conclusion concerned "traffic stop policies and practices in Minnesota" as a whole.[^4] ## When The report was made to the Minnesota Legislature in 2003.[^1] ## How many The study had 65 participating jurisdictions.[^1] Its aggregate figures were as follows:[^2][^3] - stops of Black drivers: 213.84 percent above expected; - searches of Black drivers: 154.69 percent above expected; - contraband hit rate on searches of Black drivers: 11 percent; - contraband hit rate on searches of white drivers: 24 percent. ## In the at-issue record The project's at-issue record carries one item on the Department: its participation in the 2003 study, together with the study's aggregate stop, search and hit-rate figures and its conclusion.[^1][^3] The record anchors that item to a January 2025 White House presidential action, *Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity*.[^5] ## Notes [^1]: Council on Crime and Justice, *Minnesota Statewide Racial Profiling Report to the Minnesota Legislature* (2003) — establishes the report to the Legislature in 2003 and the 65 participating jurisdictions, including the Dakota County Sheriff's Department. https://static.prisonpolicy.org/scans/ccj/Racial%20Profiling%20Study.pdf [^2]: Council on Crime and Justice, *Minnesota Statewide Racial Profiling Report to the Minnesota Legislature* (2003) — establishes the aggregate rates at which Black drivers were stopped (213.84% above expected) and searched (154.69% above expected). https://static.prisonpolicy.org/scans/ccj/Racial%20Profiling%20Study.pdf [^3]: Council on Crime and Justice, *Minnesota Statewide Racial Profiling Report to the Minnesota Legislature* (2003) — establishes the contraband hit rates on searches: 11% for Black drivers and 24% for white drivers. https://static.prisonpolicy.org/scans/ccj/Racial%20Profiling%20Study.pdf [^4]: Council on Crime and Justice, *Minnesota Statewide Racial Profiling Report to the Minnesota Legislature* (2003) — establishes the report's conclusion as quoted. https://static.prisonpolicy.org/scans/ccj/Racial%20Profiling%20Study.pdf [^5]: The White House, *Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity* (January 2025) — the federal presidential action to which the project's at-issue record anchors this item. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/ending-illegal-discrimination-and-restoring-merit-based-opportunity/