CrimeReport.org reports on a pre-trial justice conference sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Pretrial Justice Institute, held May 31-June 1, 2011 in Washington, D.C., where participants including U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder called for changes to the bail system. The article reports that Vera's director, Michael Jacobson, argued that the current economic climate represents an opportunity: " 'There is a moment here we should take advantage of,' said Michael Jacobson, president of the Vera Institute of Justice, which advocates improved pretrial release programs. Jacobson urged advocates to focus public attention on 'the unnecessary, harmful incarceration of people who can't afford' to gain release."