Hennepin County Attorney-elect Cedrick Frazier has promised to listen to people impacted by crime. What could that mean?

In January, Cedrick Frazier will take over as Hennepin County Attorney, replacing Mary Moriarty. One of his first moves, he has said, will be to establish a “victim and survivor advisory council” that will give those impacted by crime “a meaningful voice in shaping my administration’s policies.” The idea – second only in his stated campaign priorities to his promise to prosecute ICE – could be a way to set his tenure apart from what some constituents, including his opponent Anders Folk , have called Moriarty’s lack of respect for people impacted by crime. (Moriarty’s supporters have pushed back on that charge, saying that a focus on rehabilitation for some offenders, especially juveniles, promotes safer communities.) In communications with MinnPost on Oct. 5, Frazier’s team affirmed that the council would be established on his first day in office but said specifics haven’t been hammered out. They promised more details soon. Related: Juvenile justice drives debate in race for Hennepin County Attorney Even without a presentable plan, similarly named boards elsewhere in the country show how the advisory council could work. In Illinois, the Violent Crime Victims Advisory Committee studies the state’s laws and agencies connected to crime victims and recommends actions that could be taken to support their needs. For example, they’ve supported training for the Chicago Police Department’s Family Liaison Officers to help them engage more effectively with survivors and families during investigations. In Iowa, a Victim Advisory Council is run through the state’s department of corrections to perform a similar function for its policies. And in Wisconsin, a Crime Victims Council operates under the state’s justice department, helping to implement the state’s Marsy’s Law offering crime victims certain rights, including to be heard during proceedings about plea deals, sentencing and parole. In an August interview with the Politics Chicks Podcast, Frazier said that part of the board’s purpose would be “to have that real-time feedback from people that are coming through the system and impacted by the system.” The hope, he said, would be to create deeper trust with people affected by crime. Artika Roller is the executive director of Cornerstone, a Minnesota nonprofit that serves people impacted by crime. Frazier’s proposal, she said, is reminiscent of parts of the Duluth Model , a widely used approach developed in the early 1980s in Duluth, Minn. The model calls for a response, in particular to domestic violence, that includes “a central role for advocates and victims.” Their perspectives and ideas are included in the creation of policies and procedures designed to hold offenders accountable. “I think that adapting that type of model is a best practice, is a proven practice,” Roller said. “Not only are their voices heard, but their strategies are also implemented.” Though she hasn’t spoken with Frazier about the advisory council, Roller said Frazier’s work as a state legislator, which included authoring the state’s red flag law in 2023, showed “a strong commitment to this work.” She added her hopes that beyond the council, his office will also invest in community-based programs like hers that do similar work. “Because the ultimate goal, the long term goal,” she said, “is that we are providing as much safety as we can for the people in the community.” Related