FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: media@vera.org

NEW YORK - On April 28, the Trump White House released an executive order titled “Strengthening And Unleashing America’s Law Enforcement To Pursue Criminals And Protect Innocent Citizens.” The seven sections outlined in the order aim to dismantle police accountability and empower police to act without consequence, while compromising public safety. This extreme action follows the Trump administration’s decimation of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) civil rights division and cuts to over $800 million in DOJ grants, which funded programs that prevented crime and served victims of crime.

In response, the Vera Institute of Justice released the following statement from Ed Chung, vice president of initiatives:

“In a matter of weeks, the Trump administration has decimated the DOJ’s civil rights division and gutted funding for programs that prevent crime and serve victims of crime—and now it is encouraging more ‘aggressive’ policing without accountability. This trilogy of attacks on public safety will have real, powerful impacts felt by each of us. Aggressive policing—especially without accountability—leads to abusive policing. Nobody asked for this.

“President Trump’s most recent policing executive order is littered with fearmongering inaccuracies that paint the wrong picture about what actually makes our neighborhoods safer. Crime across America continues its multiyear decline, and not as a result of some violent unchecked policing model. It is a direct consequence of comprehensive strategies that include both community investments in crime prevention and policing.

“Safer communities have never started with more abusive police. Safer communities start with powerful working relationships between police and the people they serve, systems that hold law enforcement accountable, and deep investments that prevent crime before it can happen.”

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About the Vera Institute of Justice: The Vera Institute of Justice is powered by hundreds of advocates, researchers, and policy experts working to transform the criminal legal and immigration systems until they’re fair for all. Founded in 1961 to advocate for alternatives to money bail in New York City, Vera is now a national organization that partners with impacted communities and government leaders for change. We develop just, antiracist solutions so that money doesn’t determine freedom; fewer people are in jails, prisons, and immigration detention; and everyone is treated with dignity. Vera’s headquarters is in Brooklyn, New York, with offices in Washington, DC, New Orleans, and Los Angeles. For more information, visit vera.org.

About Vera Action: Vera Action is an independent 501(c)(4) organization and the advocacy partner of the Vera Institute of Justice. At Vera Action, we harness the power of advocacy, lobbying, and political strategy to end mass incarceration, protect immigrants’ rights, restore dignity to people behind bars, and build safe and thriving communities.