Mpls. Police Start Tracking Race During Traffic Stops
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Thursday was the first day Minneapolis police started documenting the race of people they stop for questioning.
Police Chief Janeé Harteau says officers will now record the race, gender and age of people they stop, as well as the reason for the stop.
Before Thursday, that information was only documented if a person was arrested.
The new policy comes after community groups raised concerns about officers targeting people of color.
The chief says just like body cameras, the new data will offer a better picture of what's happening.
"They are under incredible scrutiny and concerned every time they make a stop or make an arrest frankly for a person of color, and this way it will help them in cases where there isn't an arrest, to be able to document the basis for the stop, the race of the stop and [be] just very open about it," Harteau said.
She says the department will review the racial data on police stops quarterly to see if there are patterns.