By Will Cooley Minnesota has historically boasted a low incarceration rate compared to the rest of the United States. But when we add community supervision—probation, parole, and supervised release—to this number, 2023 rankings place Minnesota as the 13th most punitive state. Simply put by scholar Michelle Phelps, while other states have a “mass incarceration” problem, we rely on “mass probation.” A steady decline in probation numbers over the last 20 years, however, signals

Here at the Minnesota Justice Research Center, we know the justice system isn’t just. That’s why we’re working to change it. We do things a little differently than traditional research organizations: we center the community and build bridges to transform our criminal legal system into one that is equitable, accountable, and restorative. What does that look like in action? Check out some of our accomplishments in 2025. We released our blueprint for a groundbreaking redesign of

By Alejandro Caceres-Aranda and Will Cooley The Problem of Prison Churn In 2019, over 60% of new admissions to Minnesota’s prisons resulted from supervision failures—this means that most of the people entering the facility had been there before, and were back for a violation of their supervision. These individuals comprised approximately 25% of the total prison population and cost taxpayers more than $77 million per year. On top of that, a significant number of these admissio

“The system is broken, but we’re doing a good job.” By Dr. Katie Remington Cunningham This blog is a reflection that represents my own views and perspectives on the conversations that occurred with corrections staff and community members over the course of three days, from 9/22/25 to 9/24/25. In late September, some of my colleagues and I at the MNJRC were invited to co-host an international visitor on his whirlwind tour of correctional facilities and stakeholder meetings. Th

By Will Cooley and Mabel Malhotra The Minnesota Justice Research Center (MNJRC) has been engaged in a multi-year effort to improve our state’s community supervision system focus on safely reintegrating people into the community, reducing revocations, and ensuring public safety. On October 23, 2025, we hosted a roundtable to discuss policies that can create more housing opportunities for Minnesotans on community supervision or otherwise impacted by the criminal legal system. W