Vera Action

How Trump could use the Insurrection Act to send troops to American cities The president told reporters Monday that "we have an Insurrection Act for a reason."

Trump threatened to invoke an 1807 law to force military troops into American cities to score on his political opponents. He doesn't care about our safety.

We deserve leaders with actual plans to lower crime rates and increase safety in cities.

Politically driven attacks on proven violence intervention programs and services pose a serious threat to public safety.

Leaders who truly care about safety and justice must stand strong and defend what works to build safer communities.

Chicago has already made real progress in lowering crime rates by investing in proven violence prevention programs and expanding access to key services, good jobs, education, and health care.

In order to create a city where everyone feels safe, that work must continue.

Illinois governor says Trump's military deployment threat isn't about safety Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker says President Trump's threat to deploy 100 military personnel to Chicago is an effort to cause "mayhem," not make residents safer.

Governor @govpritzker.illinois.gov is right about Trump's threat to march federal troops into Chicago and other American cities.

"One thing is clear—none of what Trump is doing is making Illinois safer."

Detroit's community violence program is having an effect, latest data shows Between May and the end of July, the five zones overseen by community groups reported a 30% drop in homicides and non-fatal shootings. In two others, there was a 50% drop.

Detroit is seeing as much as a 50 percent drop in violent crime in neighborhoods that have set up strong community violence intervention programs.

We know what works to keep us safe—and it’s not marching federal troops into American cities.

"If you want to help our cities, send our tax dollars back to us for violence prevention . . . so we can address the underlying causes of some of this crime, in terms of jobs and in terms of education."

Crime in Oakland dropped. Here’s how officials plan to keep it down Your morning catch-up: Oakland is getting past a crime wave, millions of Californians are getting a refund on their electric bill and more big stories.

Mayors like Barbara Lee in Oakland understand what it takes to bring crime rates down: investments in jobs, housing and social services, and accountability at all levels.

"Accountability and safety go hand in hand."

These Black cities cut crime. Mayors fear Trump's moves could undo the progress. Crime is down in majority-Black cities, but mayors say Trump's cuts and Guard threats risk it.

Cutting funding for violence prevention programs and deploying federal troops to cities threatens the progress made on delivering public safety.

"Trump is prioritizing political theater over solutions to reduce crime." -Vera Action Director Insha Rahman

Rather than emulate or succumb to Trump, Democrats can call out his "crime plan" for what it is: a political power grab by a president whose own actions undermine safety, endanger our families, and get us farther away from real solutions.

One Democratic strategist’s argument against the ‘tough on crime’ pivot Insha Rahman spoke to Semafor about how criminal justice reformers are thinking through this moment, and what her group’s polling really says.

Opinion research has consistently found that "tough on crime" rhetoric reinforces the GOP brand, even when Democrats use it.

Vera Action Director Insha Rahman talks to David Weigel about why Democrats need to build their own brand:
www.semafor.com/article/09/0...

Trump Is Leaning in on Crime. Democrats Need a Better Response — and Fast. If the president's recent escalation was an attempt to goad Democrats into declaring that crime isn’t a problem, they did not disappoint him.

Democrats cannot "out-tough" Trump and the GOP on crime. To respond to this historic threat, the party needs to tell its own story about what makes us safe.

They can own the issue of safety by focusing on real investments that are actually working to build safe communities.

Our charge to Democrats at the DNC Summer Meeting on Monday: take ownership of safety and justice.

Candidates who avoid the topic of crime on the campaign trail will do so at their peril.

Just 38% of Americans support Trump's use of troops to police DC,  Reuters/Ipsos poll finds Few Americans outside President Donald Trump's Republican Party support his deployment of National Guard troops to police the streets of Washington, D.C., according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.

We weren't bluffing when we said that the federal takeover of D.C. was a political liability for Trump and Republicans.

➡️ Just 38% of Americans support using troops for law enforcement in the U.S. capital.
➡️ 46% are opposed.

New from Reuters/Ipsos:

Vera Action Responds to Clip from DNC Presentation WASHINGTON — On Monday, Vera Action Director Insha Rahman gave a talk at the DNC summer convening, “How Democrats Can Fight and Win the Crime Debate,” based on Vera Action’s extensive research on crime and public safety. Following the presentation, a soundbite was clipped from the 20-minute presentation to misrepresent her. In response, Vera Action released the following statement from Insha Rahman:

Our full statement:

To find out what voters really want when it comes to safety, accountability, and justice, do what we've been doing for years: following the data and research.

Watch our entire DNC presentation here:

As we shared on Monday, the police have a critical role to play in advancing public safety, but we cannot treat them as a one-size-fits-all solution.

We must invest in other proven programs and services that work to prevent crime, respond to crisis, and stop violence.

Americans More Critical of U.S. Criminal Justice System A majority of Americans again say the U.S. criminal justice system is not tough enough. Far fewer now than in 2003 believe the criminal justice system is fair.

In a Gallup poll from November 2023, 64% of respondents said they favored spending more money and effort on addressing social and economic problems such as drug addiction, homelessness, and mental health compared to the 35% who favored spending more on law enforcement.

By calling on Democrats to be serious about safety, we are building upon longstanding research that shows Americans favor addressing social and economic problems to reduce crime.

We have received backlash over a short soundbite from our DNC presentation that was pulled from its original context.

Our research shows that the biggest safety priorities to most voters are to address gun violence, homelessness, drugs and street crime.

We began this work because we saw that crime was being wielded as a political cudgel by Republicans while Democrats largely remained silent.

We believe voters deserve robust debate and honest conversation from politicians about a kitchen table issue that matters—safety.

Since 2022, we've conducted 40+ rounds of national, state, and local research on how voters are thinking about crime and safety.

Our message at the DNC on Monday was that a majority of Americans favor policies and programs that prevent crime and make communities safer. 🧵

Trying to "out-tough" the opposition doesn’t work.

As the president threatens to march the National Guard into American cities, Democrats need to create a values contrast to the GOP.

Our message at the DNC Summer Meeting yesterday was simple:

Own the issues of safety and justice by talking about them early and often. Focus on solutions that are actually working to make us safer.

We can do better than empty "tough on crime" rhetoric.

We joined the DNC yesterday to highlight this truth: people don't want military troops flowing into their city streets.

They want real investments in proven solutions to reduce crime and make communities safer.

In D.C. neighborhoods with gun crime, residents want help. But not like this. The Post interviewed more than 30 people who live or work where shootings and homicides are highest. Their views on Trump’s policing solution are mixed.

Bottom line: D.C. residents feel less safe as a direct result of Trump's federal takeover. There's no erasing that reality.

Democrats should absolutely stand up against this power grab by speaking loud and clear about what actually works to keep us safe.

That's why Vera Action is showing up in places like the #DNC today and #CPAC earlier this year to show those on all sides of the political spectrum what it looks like to invest in safety, accountability, and justice.

Because safety isn't red or blue. It's what we all want and deserve.

Americans have real and legitimate concerns about crime. Instead of exploiting those concerns, we should offer them real solutions to prevent crime, respond to crisis, and stop violence.

In cities across America, investments like these have helped lower crime rates and improve people's lives.

Trump's federal takeover of the DC police and deployment of military troops to American cities has nothing to do with our safety. His actions are a cynical ploy to grab more power for himself.

Good jobs, affordable housing, access to treatment for mental health and addiction, and community-based violence intervention programs all contribute to a safe and healthy community.

Vera Action's 30+ rounds of public opinion research clearly show that voters desire a new approach to safety—one that invests in proven solutions.