Policing
The goal of Vera’s Policing Program is to shrink the footprint of American policing and advance racial equity. We provide data and tools in support of grassroots and community-led movements and blueprint approaches that prioritize community needs. We approach our work by focusing on areas in which disparities and biases exist, making enforcement data widely accessible, and uplifting community-based solutions.
Police officers are the most visible manifestation of the criminal legal system, and their actions have a profound impact on the lives of millions of people every year. From its inception, American policing has harmed and disproportionately targeted communities of color—and Black communities in particular. Despite its legacy of violence and racism, policing today lacks transparency, and officers are rarely held accountable for their actions. As a result, police legitimacy is at an all-time low and communities across the country are questioning what role, if any, police should play in 21st century America—and why elected representatives are funding police departments over other essential public services. To date, the voices of those who are most impacted by police have been excluded from decisions about policing. This is despite the fact that enforcement numbers in the United States are staggering (with more than 10 million arrests each year) and that racially disparate enforcement patterns have caused significant harm to communities of color. Further, although the collateral consequences of punitive enforcement for individuals and communities are well documented, police still remain the default first responders in most places—responding to a range of social, economic, and health issues that would be better resolved within the community—and often in ways that exacerbate existing disadvantage.
Our current projects build on Vera’s position as a national justice reform organization and our capacity to gather and analyze data, communicate with diverse audiences, and engage both government stakeholders and grassroots organizations.
Featured
Arrest Trends
Interactive data tool on policing trends at the national and local levels
Every Three Seconds
Unlocking Police Data on Arrests
The launch of Arrest Trends marks Vera’s most recent effort to reduce the criminal justice system’s footprint—by unlocking key policing data and, in doing so, elevating the narrative of overreliance on arrests and the need for viable alternatives. In this report, readers will find information about the need for greater access to policing data, an o ...
Gatekeepers
The Role of Police in Ending Mass Incarceration
Police in America arrest millions of people each year, and the likelihood that arrest will lead to jail incarceration has increased steadily. Ending mass incarceration and repairing its extensive collateral consequences thus must begin by focusing on the front end of the system: police work. Recognizing the roughly 18,000 police agencies around the ...
Related Work
Truth in Numbers
Racial Disparities in Police Killings
Months from now, a judge and jury will consider what happened in Minneapolis in the early morning of May 25, 2020. They’ll watch the footage of Officer Chauvin, knee on Floyd’s neck, his own hand casually in his pocket. They’ll be reminded that this police encounter was sparked by nothing more than an alleged counterfeit $20 bill. Twenty dollars. ...
Blog Post
Nicholas Turner
Frankie Wunschel
A Look Inside the New York City Police Department Budget
The New York City Police Department (NYPD) is by far the biggest and most expensive police department in the country: The overall cost of the NYPD is actually more than $11 billion annually. In recent weeks, the call to defund the NYPD has reached fever pitch, with calls to pass a budget on July 1, 2020, that includes $1 billion less for policing. ...
How can we change a system set up to control Black people? By radically dismantling it.
The senseless and violent deaths of Black people—like George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and David McAtee—at the hands of law enforcement are not isolated incidents. They are examples of an unjust and oppressive system that is weaponized against Black people. Though the just prosecution of officers involved in acts of police brutality is necessary, it h ...
Blog Post
Jamila Hodge
Protecting Black Lives: The Crisis of American Policing
The police make 10.5 million arrests a year, mostly for minor offenses. In fact, less than 5 percent were for incidents that involved serious violence. Every police encounter threatens escalation, injury, and death. Real accountability in policing is long overdue. Vera is committed to dismantling the current culture of policing and working toward s ...
Blog Post
Nicholas Turner
Floyd’s Death Emblematic of a Fundamentally Brutal Criminal Justice System
Even if encounters with police do not result in extrajudicial execution, Black Americans can reasonably fear that the criminal justice system will deliver wildly disproportionate punishment and disregard for our humanity. Even when operating “correctly,” it is fundamentally brutal towards people of color. The true extent of the horror that the U.S. ...
Blog Post
Erica Bryant
Series: Covid-19
Coronavirus, Mental Health, and the Enduring Importance of Health-Centered Crisis Response
With support from the NFL Foundation, Vera’s Serving Safely initiative promotes crisis response programs that connect people in crisis to community-based services while minimizing involvement with police and the criminal justice system. In today’s fraught environment, however, vital social distancing efforts deprive people of traditional supports a ...
Blog Post
Jackson Beck
Leah Pope
Series: Covid-19
Public Health and Public Safety: The Critical Role of Police During the COVID-19 Crisis
One concern has been that law enforcement officers themselves could become vectors of transmission for coronavirus because of the degree of public exposure inherent in policing. While much has been written about law enforcement practices at this time, less focus has been placed on the public health and safety risks for frontline responders and thei ...
Blog Post
Leah Pope
Aaron Stagoff-Belfort
COVID-19 and Policing Webinar
Reducing Arrests and Supporting the Health of Communities and Officers
This webinar is designed to support police professionals in their work to protect the health of communities and officers during the coronavirus pandemic. Former and current leaders in policing discuss strategies for reducing the number of people who come in contact with law enforcement and opportunities for further reducing the number of people goi ...
Series: Covid-19
Law Enforcement Best Practices Can Help Halt the Spread of COVID-19 by Keeping People Out of Jail
Jurisdictions adopt best practices A few jurisdictions, including several of the largest police forces in the country, have already adopted some of these best practices. These departments provide examples for law enforcement agencies nationwide. Some jurisdictions are taking steps to change enforcement patterns. Miami-Dade Police Department has ...
Blog Post
Aaron Stagoff-Belfort
What Can A Police Beating in Pittsburgh Teach Us About Racial Bias and Use Of Force?
Vera: What happened to Jordan Miles in 2010? DH: Jordan, an 18-year-old high school senior, left his mother’s house at night to walk around the block, to where his grandmother lived. The family lived in Homewood, an African American neighborhood that has experienced a high level of violent crime. Within a minute of leaving, Jordan encountered three ...
Blog Post
Aaron Stagoff-Belfort
Understanding Law Enforcement Practice in Your Community: An Exploration of 911 Open Data Sets
This sort of analysis is just the tip of the iceberg, and we’ll be blogging about how best to use the data here. We’re expecting people to reach out so that they can ask more questions. We would love to start a conversation about how Vera and Two-Sigma can support your 911 data exploration in your city, and how you can use the data aggregation and ...
Blog Post
Frankie Wunschel
Making 911 Accessible
A Guide to 911 Open-Datasets
The 911 system offers an initial look into the problems communities face and the resulting responses that police departments supply. There is a growing demand across the country for greater transparency in policing—and access to data is a key way to increase this transparency. 911 open databases are a prime example of accessible data that communiti ...