MN Justice Research Center

Transformation Blueprint: Reimagining Criminal Justice in Minnesota

Education EN ↓ 5 episodes

Welcome to Transformation Blueprint, where we unpack our criminal legal system in Minnesota and beyond and build pathways to change. Hosted by team members at the Minnesota Justice Research Center (MNJRC), this podcast translates research into actionable knowledge, spotlights local and national change-makers, and connects you with ways to create a more just Minnesota. Whether you’re an advocate, policymaker, or someone who cares about justice, this is your blueprint for transformation. Learn more at mnjrc.org.

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MN Justice Research Center

Episodes

Responders or Fixers? The Sustainability of Crisis Response in Minneapolis and Beyond 08.04.2026 53:03

When the police aren’t the answer…who do you call? Minneapolis has an unarmed response team dispatched by 911 for mental health crises—it’s called behavioral crisis response (BCR) and it’s run by Canopy Roots. In 2023, Canopy Roots asked us at the Minnesota Justice Research Center to evaluate their growing BCR service. We analyzed 11,000 call logs, over 500 community survey responses, and conducte...

In the System Long Enough: The Reality of Community Supervision 24.11.2025 56:37

Today, Minnesota has a low number of people inside jail and prison compared to the rest of the country. But, when we add community supervision to this number, Minnesota jumps to the 13th highest in the nation for the rate of people under correctional control according to the Prison Policy Initiative. We have made some significant policy reforms, but there are still too many people on probation for...

Making Tamales: Community Solutions to Community Violence 18.09.2025 1:01:51

***Disclaimer: We had some technical issues when recording this episode—we apologize for the reduced quality and any listening difficulties it may cause.*** Today, crime is down across the country. However, in Minneapolis, we see a dangerous pattern of non-lethal assaults not being investigated and violent crimes going unsolved. On top of this, just weeks ago, a mass shooting occurred at Annunciat...

How Our Bail System Needs to Change, Part 2 11.08.2025 33:39

In the second episode of the Minnesota Justice Research Center (MNJRC)'s podcast, Kayla Richards joins Tim Schnacke and Anna Hall for Part 2 of a conversation about cash bail and pretrial detention practices in Minnesota and nationwide. We learn about MNJRC's two-year study of Minnesota's pretrial system, the values that shone through during our community conversations, and the importa...

Why Our Bail System Needs to Change, Part 1 15.07.2025 47:50

In this pilot episode of the Minnesota Justice Research Center (MNJRC)'s podcast, Kayla Richards sits down with Tim Schnacke and Anna Hall for Part 1 of a conversation about cash bail and pretrial detention practices in Minnesota and nationwide. We hear expert perspectives on the function and failure of cash bail in Minnesota, bust misconceptions and myths about wealth-based systems of detention,...