DULUTH — Community members are encouraged to share their opinions on the practices of the Duluth Police Department and its existing accountability measures.
An anonymous survey is open through April 16 as part of an ongoing racial bias audit being conducted by the Crime and Justice Institute. The survey aims to provide insight into how people of color view their relationship with Duluth police officers, their awareness of the Citizen Review Board and the accessibility of the department's complaint process.
“This community survey is an essential part of the audit because it allows us to hear directly from members of the community and understand their opinions on police practices, oversight and accountability,” Katie Zafft, lead auditor of the CJI team, said in a statement. “The perspectives of Duluthians must be reflected in the audit for it to provide a fair assessment and effective recommendations for the future.”
Anyone who is at least 16 and lives or spends considerable time in Duluth is eligible to participate in the survey, which takes an estimated 5-10 minutes. Feedback will help guide the final recommendations in the report, which is expected to be released by late summer or early fall.
The audit, which was first set in motion by a number of community groups in 2020, seeks to identify the department's strengths and weaknesses and identify "what it needs to change in order to follow best practices in equitable policing and strong accountability measures."
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The process is also expected to collect a significant amount of data on police practices and review various policies and procedures. The city awarded CJI the contract worth up to $273,465.
A link to the survey and additional information is available at duluthmn.gov/police/public-reports-and-transparency/racial-bias-audit.
Members of the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) community are also invited to a community discussion as part of the audit process Friday, April 14, from 5-7 p.m. at the American Indian Community Housing Organization, 202 W. Second St. Individual input will be confidential, but a summary will be incorporated into the final report.
This story was updated at 5:47 p.m. April 6 to indicate that the community event is specifically for members of the BIPOC community. It was originally posted at 6:30 a.m. April 6.
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