Justice in Black and White: The Justice Gap The news last week that both Minneapolis and St. Paul police departments will start keeping track of the race of people pulled over in traffic stops is part of a much broader look at racism in Minnesota's criminal justice system. The study examines a state report which shows black men in Minnesota are sent to prison at a rate more than three times the national average. In fact, Minnesota's imprisonment ratio of blacks to whites is twenty-five to one - the highest of any state in the country. Some say racism is behind the disparity. Others say the causes are more complex.