Minnesota Justice Research Center

Transforming our Justice System. The Minnesota Justice Research Center (MNJRC) is dedicated to re-imagining a criminal legal system that is fair, equitable, accountable, and restorative in delivering justice.

The MNJRC is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to driving meaningful change to Minnesota’s criminal legal system through rigorous and community-centered research, education, and policy development. The MNJRC centers our work around exploring values - like humane and fair treatment for all, safety, wellbeing, and trust - and provides our community and policy-makers with information and tools needed to create a criminal legal system that truly delivers justice.

We believe research must be collaborative and participatory. We believe our understanding of how the system currently operates must be guided by those closest to the problem. We ground our work in values, and engage in deeper thinking with our community about what justice means and looks like while putting data behind creative ideas for solutions. We convene and build consensus among direct stakeholders. We also monitor developments in the criminal legal system policy arena and recommend changes based on research findings. We maintain a focus on broad possibilities for re-designing our justice system. We educate stakeholders and the public in a nonpartisan manner. We build bridges.