Racial Bias Audit

Racial Bias Audit of the Duluth Police Department


Since early 2020, Duluthians have been organizing for a racial bias audit of the Duluth Police Department (DPD). The earliest public demand for a racial bias audit (RBA) appeared in a petition written by BIPOC organizers and signed by over 3000 people. When the LEAN team interviewed local police accountability organizers in late 2020, the racial bias audit was the number one demand shared by people we spoke with. 

The Duluth Community Safety Initiative (DCSI) included the racial bias audit as a central demand in their “Proposals for Community-led Police Accountability in Duluth,” published in April 2021. Also in April 2021, Mayor Larson ordered the DPD to conduct a racial bias audit. Organizers from DCSI and NAACP Duluth Branch worked with the City to create a plan for the racial bias audit. After a Request for Proposals process, the Crime and Justice Institute (CJI) was selected as the agency that would take on this project, and the racial bias audit began in October of 2022. Currently, the City's Racial Bias Audit Team is attending monthly meetings to discuss CJI’s focus and plan for the next month, provide input, discussion, and assistance. 


The latest updates on this process can be found on the City of Duluth Racial Bias Audit page.


Duluth's racial bias audit is ongoing. The following information summarizes the original community demands for this process.


The following are two excerpts from the DCSI’s Proposals for Community-led Police Accountability in Duluth:


Racial bias audits have been successfully completed in American cities equal or greater in size than Duluth. A professionally executed racial bias audit brings an unbiased perspective to both public safety and to the citizenry. We believe that the successful execution of a racial bias audit of the DPD will afford much needed clarity on the question of racial bias in DPD practices. A transparent, thorough, professionally executed racial bias audit will build respect and trust.


The successful completion of a racial bias audit will offer city government first-hand experience with bias audits. Therefore, the City will gain an informed perspective on options for future contracting of bias auditors for the purpose of evaluating levels of bias in other departments, and/or bias related to human aspects other than race. This audit will also provide information to the DPD that will help to guide it in its pursuit of excellence.


Professional auditors should be selected by community members. The selection committee should be comprised of at least six Black and/or Indigenous people from the community and one member from each of the following entities: Duluth NAACP Branch, Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial Inc., Indigenous Commission, African Heritage Commission, Citizens Review Board, and Human Rights Commission.


Goals for Duluth's Racial Bias Audit:


●  Assess and monitor internal operation, policies, procedures, and practices to detect the presence of implicit bias and systemic racial bias


●  Collect and analyze data related to traffic stops, use of force, and other police/civilian interactions and determine the impact on communities of color


●  Provide recommendations for reforms that eliminate racial and implicit bias within the department


●  Initiate a community-wide forum to announce the racial bias audit and record community perceptions of racial bias in policing


●  Safeguard transparency by providing community access to results and recommendations (privacy laws to be respected)

 


This Audit will be Focused on Data Collection and Organization


Data Collection


Data collection should be implemented as part of a comprehensive early warning system, in which police departments, oversight bodies, and the public use the data to monitor the patterns of the department and the behavior of individual officers. This data can (01) help identify potential police misconduct and deter it, (02) function as a means of exoneration for false accusations of police misconduct.


●      Time of day stops


●      Zoomed out geographical view of stops (location-based GPS)


●      Post-stop outcomes/what happens after stops


●      Perceived race (reported) vs perceived race (body cam)


●      An explanation of the reason for the law enforcement action at each stage of police contact should be required, including whether contraband was found



Organization


What is the relationship between officers’ perceptions of civilians’ race and:


●      Rates of civilian officer contact


●      Arrest rates and the reasons for arrest


●      Rates of searches and the reasons for searches


●      Use of force


What is the relationship between officers’ perceptions of civilians’ race and perceptions of civilians’:


●      Economic status


●      Sexual orientation


●      Gender identification


●      Sex


●      Ability, disability, and mental health


●      Living conditions and housing status



Learn more about the success of Racial Bias Audits that have been performed around the country:


●  Charleston Racial Bias Audit Final Report


●  Albany Racial Bias Audit Final Report


●  Kalamazoo Racial Bias Audit Final Report


●  Article on the Results of the Kalamazoo Audit


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