Vera Institute of Justice

Overview

Since its founding in 1961, Vera has mounted a wide range of research, demonstration, and technical assistance projects in the area of sentencing and corrections. Vera's strategy for spurring innovation has been to advance each of the purposes criminal sentences serve, often simultaneously, resisting temptation to privilege any one purpose or constituency. From Vera's early success refining community service as punishment to the recent initiative to help state leaders advance reforms, the Institute has expanded the way people in government think about sentencing and corrections and increased their options for dealing justly with individuals who break the law. This brief history chronicles Vera's work in this area while highlighting key findings and results. It also includes a timeline of Vera projects and a bibliography.