Minnesota Agencies

The commissioner of public safety shall establish and maintain an Office of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives dedicated to preventing and ending the targeting of Indigenous women, children, and two-spirited people. Additional duties of the office are described in Minn. Stat. 299A.85, subd. 4.

The office must report annually, by January 15, on measurable outcomes achieved to meet its statutory duties, along with specific objectives and outcome measures proposed for the following year. The report must include data and statistics on missing and murdered indigenous women, children, and relatives in Minnesota, including names, dates of disappearance, and dates of death, to the extent the data is publicly available.

The Office of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives, established under the Department of Public Safety's Office of Justice Programs, follows the work of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Task Force. The task force recommended the creation of this office in its final report.

The commissioner must appoint a director who is a person closely connected to a Tribe or Indigenous community and who is highly knowledgeable about criminal investigations. The commissioner is encouraged to consider candidates for appointment who are recommended by Tribes and Indigenous communities.

The director may select, appoint, and compensate out of available funds assistants and employees as necessary to discharge the office's responsibilities.