As CORCA’s prospects in Congress grow uncertain, concerns are mounting about the bill’s potential to expand federal surveillance powers.

A few months ago, the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (CORCA) looked to have nearly unstoppable political momentum in Congress. Propelled by a media narrative of out-of-control retail theft—a narrative that appears massively overblown—proponents promised CORCA would “protect American businesses, safeguard our frontline workers, and ultimately, ...

Thirty-three people have died in county jails so far this year.

How are people dying?It typically takes months for Los Angeles County to publicly issue causes of death for people who have died in LA County jails. And even once autopsy reports are finalized, they don’t tell the whole story. When the coroner rules that a death is the result of “natural causes,” jail conditions can still be to blame. Researchers h ...

Vera’s Chief Advocacy Officer, Ellen Flenniken, explains why being serious about public safety requires moving beyond failed “tough-on-crime” policies.

Public safety is rarely measured by crime statistics alone: it is defined by how people actually feel about their communities and the country as a whole. To address public concerns effectively, we must first understand how perceptions—and misperceptions—of crime are formed. Vera’s Chief Advocacy Officer Ellen Flenniken and Senior Writer Alex Pareen ...