Improving Oversight and Accountability for Jails and Prisons

Drawing on lessons learned from its year-long Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons, Vera’s Washington DC Office is partnering with four jurisdictions around the country—two states and two counties—to help them improve oversight of their prisons and jails.

Successful systems of oversight provide correctional institutions with protocols for identifying problems and developing targeted solutions. Many corrections leaders are interested in improving or establishing such systems, but they often lack adequate resources or public support. Vera’s two-and-a-half year partnership with these four jurisdictions is expected to demonstrate that creating effective oversight of correctional institutions is a feasible, responsible, and cost-effective endeavor that deserves widespread replication.