Vera Action

Fighting to end mass incarceration, protect immigrants’ rights, restore dignity to people behind bars, and build safe and thriving communities.

[Burgess Everett @burgessev]

New “Serious About Safety Majority” from Vera Institute and https://t.co/c8xCUEebKV plans $500,000+ campaign to wade into congressional races, defeat Combating Organized Retail Crime Act and other "tough on crime" bills and

https://t.co/26UmalnF1U

[Vera Action @veraactionorg]

60% of voters prefer candidates who are serious about safety, not "tough on crime."

Democrats can go on offense by defining what it really means to be serious about safety: not stoking fear, but advancing a clear, solutions-driven agenda that prevents crime and breaks its cycle.

[Vera Action @veraactionorg]

"Republicans always have a tried-and-true political playbook: fearmongering about crime. And unless Democrats go on the offensive, it just may work," Vera Action federal advocacy director Aiden Cotter writes for @commondreams. https://t.co/wGomnqMIeo

[Vera Action @veraactionorg]

Exactly. CORCA would deepen DHS involvement in local policing and expanding surveillance authorities without meaningful safeguards or accountability—at a time when the agency has shown it cannot be trusted to use those powers responsibly.

[Max Burns @themaxburns]

The 'national intelligence hub' will live under DHS, with a director appointed by the ICE Director. The bill doesn't include a single safeguard for citizens' privacy, and include no limits on how collected data can be used or how it can be shared.

[Vera Action @veraactionorg]

Everyone deserves to feel safe—but CORCA is not a safety bill, it’s a surveillance bill that would dramatically expand DHS power by providing them with sweeping access to personal data and entangling them in local law enforcement. https://t.co/cQ0i8CVUdZ

[Vera Action @veraactionorg]

Safety is a feeling.

Even if crime is down, voters’ personal experiences and concerns matter. Everyone deserves to be safe, and even one act of violence is too many.

For more, check out our most recent interactive polling report: https://t.co/HABCaxsyWa

[Vera Action @veraactionorg]

"I have come to believe that a system that cannot reassess its own decisions risks losing sight of its purpose: to hold people accountable, to protect the public and to ensure that punishment remains fair and proportionate over time." https://t.co/9AMSItk1VR

[Vera Action @veraactionorg]

Voters want better policing, not more policing. And they know that police can't be a one-size-fits-all solution to every social problem.

Check out our NEW interactive webpage to see how voters in 2026 are thinking about policing, based on our research. ⬇️ https://t.co/kgsVX1SZYv

[Vera Action @veraactionorg]

Under AG Pam Bondi, the DOJ terminated ~$820 million in funding for safety programs that support causes such as violence prevention, law enforcement training, victim services, and youth justice.

Her time leading the department made all of us less safe. https://t.co/MSopKmd8Jg

[Vera Action @veraactionorg]

94 percent of Democratic voters support providing government-funded attorneys for everyone who cannot afford one, including people in immigration court.

https://t.co/9ns27RKM00

[Vera Institute of Justice @verainstitute]

New Yorkers—and key constituencies—support the right to representation.

📊 70% of voters support it statewide
➡️ 2 in 3 union households back universal representation

This is a broad, durable coalition rooted in fairness, due process, and keeping families together.

[Vera Action @veraactionorg]

The conventional political wisdom about crime is wrong.

In poll after poll, voters favor a "serious about safety" approach—bringing together evidence-backed policies to deliver safety—over a "tough on crime" one.

Got questions? Our website has answers: https://t.co/b5Tb3FPgAN

[Vera Action @veraactionorg]

New York City Public Advocate @JumaaneWilliams on the creation of the Office of Community Safety: "We can't be focused, as leaders, on simply looking to be 'tough on crime.' We have to be serious about safety."

[Vera Action @veraactionorg]

Last week, @NYCMayor Zohran Mamdani announced the creation of the Office of Community Safety (OCS), a step toward his campaign promise to address real concerns about crime.

Comprehensive investments—not "tough on crime" band-aids—will deliver real safety for New Yorkers.

[Vera Action @veraactionorg]

Last week, @NYCMayor Zohran Mamdani announced the creation of the Office of Community Safety (OCS), a step toward his campaign promise to address real concerns about crime.

Comprehensive investments—not "tough on crime" band-aids—will deliver real safety for New Yorkers.

[Vera Action @veraactionorg]

"This new approach — backed by both evidence and polling — is to be 'serious about safety.' This means delivering strong, accountable policing to solve serious crimes; investing in schools, jobs, housing and treatment; and targeting illegal guns to prevent crime and break its cycle."

[Vera Action @veraactionorg]

Crime is down. Trump doesn't deserve credit.

"Instead of letting Trump run through his well-worn playbook and continue to dictate the politics of crime, Democrats must go on offense," writes incoming Vera Action president Insha Rahman for @TheHillOpinion https://t.co/tcsyTUph1h

[Vera Institute of Justice @verainstitute]

Today, Vera Institute of Justice and @veraactionorg name Insha Rahman as the next president and director.

[Vera Institute of Justice @verainstitute]

Ahead of tonight's State of the Union address, we need to be clear about the false narrative that Trump’s aggressive crackdowns are the reason crime is down. His administration's militarized invasions of U.S. cities and immigration raids are about power, not safety. #SOTU 🧵

[Dream.Org @thedreamcorps]

In the latest episode of We Dream, @janosmarton dives in with Insha Rahman, VP of Advocacy and Partnerships at the @verainstitute, on challenging the politics of fear shaping today’s crime debate 🎧 https://t.co/kPdjf16u32

[Vera Action @veraactionorg]

https://t.co/rAQFvvo1jI

[Vera Action @veraactionorg]

It’s time for a new paradigm on safety.

Today, we’re releasing a policy agenda that outlines real, proven solutions to counter crime fearmongering, rebuild trust with voters, and deliver safety people can feel in their daily lives. 🧵

Read it here: https://t.co/30AfPLMkEB

[Vera Action @veraactionorg]

We released a policy agenda to deliver real safety that Americans can feel in their daily lives. https://t.co/RoewcGH79w