# Racial profiling study *2003 statewide study of Minnesota traffic stops by the Council on Crime and Justice, covering 65 jurisdictions* The **racial profiling study** was a statewide study of traffic stops in [[Minnesota]] by the [[Council on Crime and Justice]]. It was reported to the [[Minnesota Legislature]] in 2003.[^1] Sixty-five jurisdictions took part, and the [[Dakota County Sheriff's Department]] was one of them.[^1] Across the participating jurisdictions, the study reported stop and search rates for Black drivers above expected rates. It also found that searches of Black drivers turned up contraband less often than searches of white drivers.[^1] From these figures it concluded that there is "a strong likelihood that racial/ethnic bias plays a role in traffic stop policies and practices in Minnesota."[^1] The project's at-issue record pairs the study's figures with a January 2025 presidential action on discrimination.[^2] ## Who The study was carried out by the Council on Crime and Justice and reported to the Minnesota Legislature.[^1] It covered 65 participating jurisdictions, including the Dakota County Sheriff's Department.[^1] ## What The study reports the following figures, aggregated across participating jurisdictions:[^1] - Black drivers were stopped at 213.84 percent above expected rates.[^1] - Black drivers were searched at 154.69 percent above expected rates.[^1] - Contraband was found in 11 percent of searches of Black drivers. The figure for searches of white drivers was 24 percent.[^1] The study concluded that there is "a strong likelihood that racial/ethnic bias plays a role in traffic stop policies and practices in Minnesota."[^1] ## When The study was reported to the Minnesota Legislature in 2003.[^1] ## How many The study covered 65 jurisdictions.[^1] The record in the pack gives the study's figures only as statewide aggregates across participating jurisdictions. It does not give figures for any single jurisdiction, including Dakota County.[^1] ## In the at-issue record Entry AI-Dakota-086 of the project's at-issue record appears under the heading *VI. The Money*. It places the study's 2003 figures beside the presidential action *Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity* (January 2025).[^2] The entry identifies the contrast in the study's figures as "the arithmetic that removes the efficiency defense." That contrast is a higher search rate for Black drivers, 154.69 percent above expected, paired with a lower contraband hit rate: 11 percent, against 24 percent for white drivers.[^1][^2] This is the at-issue entry's framing, not a finding of the study itself. The record does not establish how any agency used the study's figures after 2003. ## In the Minnesota record ### What - The project's Dakota County dossier (row D28) classifies the study as a commissioned research finding. The row lists it as the Council on Crime and Justice's statewide racial profiling report of 2003.[^1] - The dossier does not identify who commissioned the study.[^1] ## Notes [^1]: Council on Crime and Justice, *Racial Profiling Study* (2003) — statewide traffic-stop study reported to the Minnesota Legislature. It covers 65 participating jurisdictions, including the Dakota County Sheriff's Department, and reports stop, search and contraband-rate figures and the quoted conclusion. https://static.prisonpolicy.org/scans/ccj/Racial%20Profiling%20Study.pdf [^2]: The White House, *Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity* (January 2025) — the presidential action paired with the study's figures in at-issue entry AI-Dakota-086. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/ending-illegal-discrimination-and-restoring-merit-based-opportunity/