Vera Institute of Justice

Overview

Justice reform is a multigenerational issue. It involves dismantling deeply embedded systems of inequality and transforming complex institutions. This process is inherently incremental, requiring sustained strategic effort, cultural shifts, legislative change, and the nurturing of new generations of leaders and advocates. That is exactly what Vera does. We advance policies that reduce mass incarceration, diverting people out of the system, ensuring dignity and opportunity for people living behind bars, and creating pathways to stable reentry for those returning to their communities.

Vera’s decades of research show that true public safety doesn’t come from locking people up. Yet, there are still more than 1.8 million people in jails and prisons in the United States, including more than 30,000 people in immigration detention. And while that number has declined since its horrific peak in 2008, the United States still puts a higher percentage of its population behind bars than almost any other country in the world. Every day, Vera fights to decrease these numbers.