Vera Institute of Justice

06/05/2026

For too long, New York City has asked police to address every failure of our social safety net. Vera’s new brief makes the case for a different approach: one that focuses law enforcement where it matters, invests in civilian responders, and treats every New Yorker's safety and dignity as non-negotiable.

Our data tells a clear story: 96% of NYC 911 calls in 2025 didn't involve violent crime. 34% could have been handled by trained civilians. Police are still dispatched to 86% of mental health–related calls.

New York City has an opportunity to lead on public safety, but it needs a clear, evidence-based vision to get there. Read our full brief:

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani took office on a wave of enthusiasm about a new approach to governing, including a stance on policing that broke with…

06/05/2026

More cities are reimagining their approach to public safety. One example: in Greensboro, , officials are expanding the city’s crisis response system.

Through the launch of the Clinic Alternative Response, the city will send clinicians to certain 911 calls instead of law enforcement, ensuring people get the right care when they need it the most.

More information is available at www.greensboro-nc.gov/csd.

06/05/2026

"Today, in 2026, we know so much more about what works to deliver safety and accountability—and justice… The best investment in safety is giving individuals the tools to turn their lives around and prevent future crime." — Insha Rahman, president of the Vera Institute of Justice

Yesterday, the New York State Legislature took an important step away from a “one-size-fits-all” approach to sentencing by passing legislation that provides New Yorkers mandatory minimum sentencing relief in the context of plea agreements. This represents progress toward modernizing New York's sentencing laws, ensuring outcomes that better reflect the circumstances of each case.

S.8944/A.10024 allows prosecutors and defendants to reach agreements, subject to court approval, that hold people accountable while connecting them to treatment, programs, and community-based interventions, instead of relying on incarceration alone.

We commend the Legislature for addressing extreme sentences and passing commonsense reform, and we look forward to continuing the work to change outdated sentencing laws.

On June 4th, the New York State Legislature passed S.8944/A.10024, which removes certain statutory minimum sentences when all parties and the court agree,…

06/05/2026

We all want to feel safe. But “tough on crime” policies like CORCA and the Federal Carjacking Enforcement Act won’t deliver real safety. Instead, they will ratchet up incarceration and give the Trump administration even more power.

Both these bills have bipartisan support in the Senate as its members continue to heed misguided advice about a need to appear “tough” on crime in order to win in November. But in reality, voters want solutions that work to prevent crime and break its cycle—not more posturing and political overreach.

Trump has shown us what “tough-on-crime" policies like these bills look like in action. Giving Trump’s federal agencies more access to our data and more control over local government will not make us safer, or win elections.

For more than a year, President Donald Trump has been threatening a “comprehensive crime bill ,” though rarely with much specificity on either the makeup…

06/04/2026

Everyone deserves a place to call home.

Maryland’s newly passed Fair Chance Housing Act expands access to safe, stable housing for people with conviction histories and advances public safety.

Marquis Howard recalls sweating over every word he wrote in the box on the housing application that asked about his criminal conviction. Even...

06/03/2026

The conventional political wisdom about crime is wrong. Getting “tough” no longer appeals to voters in 2026 the way it might have in 1994.

“If you flip the frame of the debate to safety and you actually talk about what works to make our communities safe, you actually win over more voters,” Vera Institute of Justice President Insha Rahman said on Right Now With Perry Bacon.

06/03/2026

“Pennsylvania’s communities cannot afford to invest another dollar in the Trump administration’s lawless agenda of terror, detention, and deportation.”— Defender Association of Philadelphia’s Keisha Hudson

For more than a year, the Department of Homeland Security has used billions of dollars to send its agents into Pennsylvania to abduct people from courtrooms, workplaces, neighborhoods, and homes, tearing immigrants from their loved ones and depriving them of their right to a fair day in court.

But solutions do exist: Less-costly, more-supportive services, like legal representation, can help deliver fairness and due process at a time when our communities, legal service providers, and immigration system face sustained strain.

The Trump administration's immigration agenda has tripled our legal referrals while leaving 52% of detained Pennsylvanians without lawyers—Senators Fetterman and McCormick can stop this.

06/02/2026

Young adults are 10% of the U.S. population—but 21% of people admitted to prison. Once inside, too many face brutal conditions that strip them of their humanity. That's not justice. Our research shows that when prisons center human dignity, young adults are 73% less likely to experience violence and 83% less likely to be sent to solitary. Change is possible.

Get the facts: https://www.vera.org/publications/dignity-and-safety-for-young-adults-in-prison

06/02/2026

As voters head to the polls in California, New Jersey, and beyond, remember this: the communities most harmed by mass incarceration have the right to make their voices heard at the ballot box.

06/02/2026

: Governor Jeff Landry's rollback of good-behavior credits for incarcerated people could cost the state an estimated $2 billion by 2034—and there's no evidence it will make communities any safer.

"These rollbacks were very partisan and not supported by research, data or even fiscally sound policy. They just approved the bills before the legislative staff even computed what the full expenses were,” Vera Louisiana Director Sarah Omojola said to the Louisiana Illuminator.

ProPublica and Verite News have spent more than two years investigating how Landry’s policies have impacted Louisiana’s criminal justice system.