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