Policing
Vera’s Policing Program is dedicated to fundamentally shifting the culture of policing from one that incentivizes and defaults to enforcement, to one that delivers and rewards public safety through community engagement and satisfaction. American policing’s overreliance on punitive enforcement, especially for minor transgressions, has resulted in a recurring adversarial dynamic that fans the flames of deeply rooted acrimony toward police in communities already experiencing enduring problems of poverty, high crime rates, and limited access to social services. This dynamic is especially pronounced in communities of color, which experience far greater levels of enforcement. Additionally, damaged police-community relations make it more difficult for police to execute their most critical responsibility: to respond to violent crime and protect public safety. In those communities where distrust in police is high, people are less likely to report a crime or offer witness testimony, which impedes effective policing.
Ruptured and spoiled relations between police and many of the communities they serve—particularly communities of color—are among some of the greatest challenges facing contemporary American society. We must bridge this gulf. Through developing new data-driven tools, assisting local governments and community leaders with policy development, and conducting research, we aim to provide alternatives to punitive enforcement and to enhance community-police collaborative problem-solving.
Featured
Policing Program Brochure
American policing is at a difficult crossroads. Ruptured relations between police and many of the communities they serve represents one of the greatest challenges facing contemporary American society. To bridge this gulf, the Vera Institute of Justice seeks to advance alternatives to enforcement that maximize public safety and enhance community rel...
CompStat360
At a time when communities are seeking ways to play an active role in the co-production of public safety—and police departments are eager to engage the communities they serve—it is essential that our management of policing resources, priorities, and responses evolves to incorporate a wider set of metrics beyond serious crime incidents. By leveragin...
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Rebecca Neusteter
The Model Police Officer
Recruitment, Training, and Community Engagement
This report—jointly published by the International City/ County Management Association (ICMA) and the Vera Institute of Justice (Vera)—presents research conducted by ICMA on the views of police departments and communities regarding police officer recruitment, training, and community engagement. The survey targeted communities of varying sizes and r...
Related Work
Embracing Human Dignity
Annual Report 2018
The Vera Institute of Justice is working to radically transform incarceration in America by replacing punishing practices with an approach that prioritizes compassion, true accountability, healing, restoration, opportunity, and hope. Learn more about our commitment to human dignity in our annual report 2018.
Why a Michigan Law Enforcement Agency Employs Formerly Incarcerated People to Bridge the Police-Community Divide
A key goal of the Policing Program at Vera is to elevate innovative approaches to policing that employ alternatives to enforcement. The Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) in Michigan is doing just that in its community outreach program employing formerly incarcerated people, which isspearheaded by Sheriff Jerry L. Clayton and Derrick Jackson...
Blog Post
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Rebecca Neusteter
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Megan O'Toole
Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office Case Study
Sheriff’s Office Hires Formerly Incarcerated Community Members to Promote Alternatives to Enforcement
Since 2009, the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) in Michigan has been successfully implementing an innovative community outreach program that employs formerly incarcerated individuals as outreach workers (OWs). OWs assist with proactive policing strategies such as referring community members to resources, applying system expertise to help i...
What Makes a Model Police Officer?
American policing is experiencing a crisis of confidence, in part due to lacking and disparate professional policing standards. It is essential that criteria used to recruit and retain police officials consider the values and priorities of the communities these individuals serve. To bride this gap, Vera partnered with the International City/County ...
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Rebecca Neusteter
Understanding Police Enforcement
A 911 Data Analysis
Police officers dedicate most of their time to responding to 911 calls. Contrary to what many may believe, however, the majority of these calls are unrelated to crimes in progress, and officers need a wide range of resources—including clearly communicated and detailed upfront information, as well as training on alternatives to traditional enforceme...
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Rebecca Neusteter
Serving Safely
Fact Sheet on the National Initiative to Enhance Policing for Persons with Mental Illnesses and Developmental Disabilities
People living with mental illnesses and developmental disabilities are disproportionately represented in contacts with the police, and these interactions can lead to stress and dangerous conditions for everyone involved. Law enforcement agencies can now request the tools they need to serve safely and effectively.
Proactive policing
Prof. David Weisburd on the findings of The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report
In this interview Prof. David Weisburd (George Mason University) summarizes the findings of The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report on proactive policing—focusing on the practice’s impacts on crime, and the reactions of communities. David Weisburd is distinguished professor of criminology, law and society at George Mas...
Emerging Issues in American Policing Digest
Emerging Issues in American Policing Digest is a quarterly digest intended for police-practitioners and community members that presents innovations in the field of policing from the leading academic journals and research publications. To receive the digest via email, or to share questions or suggestions, please email EmergingIssuesPolicing@vera.org...
For Mental Health Month, a New Initiative Focused on Serving Safely
As organizations across the country draw attention to Mental Health Awareness Month this May and to the various ways that mental illness impacts people’s lives, the launch of Serving Safely offers a chance to reflect on the myriad opportunities for improving the way criminal justice stakeholders interact with vulnerable community members at all sta...
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Leah Pope
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Rebecca Neusteter
Serving Safely
The National Initiative to Enhance Policing for Persons with Mental Illnesses and Developmental Disabilities
Request AssistanceServing Safely is a national initiative designed to improve interactions between police and persons affected by mental illnesses and developmental disabilities. The initiative offers free remote and on-site assistance to police departments and prosecutors’ offices through training, evaluation, and guidance specific to your agency’...
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Rebecca Neusteter
Bridging the Divide between Police and Community
Increased national attention on policing in America, as well as national calls for police reform, have pushed many law enforcement agencies to examine current police practices, and assess how effectively those practices contribute to ensuring public safety, officer safety, and building public trust in local police agencies. Vera's PEACE Initiative...
Stronger Together: Vera’s Policing Program Works to Bridge the Divide between Police and Community
Spreading PEACE It is in this context that Vera is launching its new Policing Program. With this program, Vera has expanded its capacity to provide assistance to law enforcement agencies and communities to collaboratively measure, manage, and improve public safety; better respond to the needs of vulnerable populations; and advance a new model for p...
Blog Post
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Rebecca Neusteter