New report shows progress but still unaffordable bail Practices in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Court-watching study finds Montgomery County has seen success in newly established pretrial systems and improved justice system outcomes April 10, 2026 NORRISTOWN, PA - Today, the Vera Institute of Justice, in collaboration with the Reuniting Family Bail Fund, published Pretrial Release and Bail-Setting Practices in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania: Findings and Recommendations, a study of nearly 1,000 hearings conducted between 2024 and 2025. The report documents real progress: since Montgomery County's 2022 reforms - providing defense counsel at all arraignments, creating a pretrial services department, and establishing automatic next-day bail review - pretrial release rates have meaningfully increased. These changes have also contributed to a more standardized and timely review of decisions that keep people in detention. "Behind every data point in this report is a person whose life was affected by a bail decision," said Angie Carpio, senior program associate at the Vera Institute of Justice. "Montgomery County's reforms are important changes, and we see that more people are released on unsecured bail in recent years than before the reforms. That's what good policy looks like, and it's a model worth building on. Still, our project shows that when judges do impose money bail, it is still too often out of reach for people, which perpetuates pretrial detention based on wealth alone and not risk." The proportion of people released on unsecured bail has increased since 2016. Still, money bail amounts that people have to pay remain higher than what many defendants may realistically be able to afford. This risks de facto detention for people who work low-paying jobs, while a person in a similar situation with more money would be released to await resolution of their case. "Over five years, we've seen that even modest bail amounts keep people away from their families and jobs for no public safety reason," said Heather Lewis, executive director and founder of the Reuniting Family Bail Fund which partnered with Vera to conduct the court-watching project. "We've posted bail for clients at a median of about $500. While the dollar amounts look small on paper, they are not small to the families we serve." Although these findings are rooted in Montgomery County, they reflect a broader challenge facing jurisdictions that invest in pretrial reform: structural change does not automatically translate into consistent courtroom practice. The report recommends areas for the county to continue to improve its pretrial system. 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 justice 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. Vera Institute of Justice, Inc. 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 the Reuniting Family Bail Fund: Based in Montgomery County, the Reuniting Family Bail Fund (RFBF) is a grassroots organization committed to ending mass incarceration and reuniting families directly impacted by the criminal legal system. RFBF's work is rooted in the Participatory Defense organizing model, through which it supports and empowers families fighting criminal cases. As part of this work, RFBF provides bail support up to $5,000 at no charge for individuals held pretrial in the Montgomery County Correctional Facility.

Pam Bondi's time leading the U.S. Department of Justice made Vera Institute of Justice, Inc. all less safe. April 2, 2026 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NEW YORK - On April 2, President Trump announced on Truth Social that Attorney General Pam Bondi would be removed from her position leading the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). In response, the Vera Institute of Justice released the following statement from Insha Rahman, Vice President of Advocacy and Partnerships at Vera and Director of Vera Action: "Bondi's forced exit from the Department of Justice is not the end of the Trump DOJ's agenda to make families, neighborhoods, and cities across the country less safe. Under Bondi's leadership, the DOJ gutted funding for programs working to prevent crime and serve victims of crime, decimated the department's civil rights division that investigated misconduct and corruption, and encouraged 'unleashing' the police to act without accountability. "Almost exactly a year ago, the DOJ under Bondi abruptly and illegally terminated millions in funding for Vera's programs to promote safety in corrections, support crime survivors with disabilities, and expand mental health crisis response services in cities. The cuts to Vera's programs were among 373 multi-year cooperative agreements and grants, totaling roughly $820 million, that supported violence prevention, law enforcement training, victim services, youth justice, and more. Vera led a class action lawsuit, in partnership with organizations working on community violence intervention, victim advocacy, youth justice, and criminal justice, to sue Bondi's DOJ to challenge the illegal termination of its grants. That lawsuit is still pending. "The remarkable and historic gains in public safety across the nation, when crime has declined significantly since 2023, are despite the actions of the Trump administration - not because of them. This is the legacy Bondi leaves, and it is highly likely that her successor will continue to undermine progress on making communities safe."

The Vera Institute of Justice launches "Incarceration and Inequality Project Data Explorer" First Interactive Data Tool That Highlights Intersections Between Economic Mobility and Incarceration Across the United States April 2, 2026 NEW YORK, NY - April 2, 2026 - Today, the Vera Institute of Justice (Vera) published the first national data tool with a primary focus on the intersection between incarceration and economic outcomes. Almost 2 million people are behind bars on any given day in the United States, and this mass incarceration is a primary driver of disparities in wealth and income. Despite the long-term impact on the economic well-being of millions of people in the United States, there are few data tools that track incarceration and economic outcomes across the country - and even fewer tools that make this data easily accessible. "Unlike economic statistics, which are routinely collected by public agencies using standardized approaches, localized incarceration data is fragmented and poorly maintained," said Jim Parsons, director of the Incarceration and Inequality Project (IIP) at Vera. "To dismantle mass incarceration, we need to address the root causes. That's why we have created a data tool that can be used by advocates, legislators, community groups, and journalists who are committed to policies and programs that improve the lives of those in their respective communities." By bringing together data on county-level incarceration trends and economic indicators in one place, the Incarceration and Inequality Project Data Explorer gives users access to easy-to-use data and maps on incarceration trends and economic outcomes across time at the national level and for individual counties across the country. "This data can be used to understand incarceration and economic metrics in your county, how they've changed over time, whether racial disparities are present, and how they compare to similar counties in your state or nationally," said Seleeke Flingai, senior research associate for the Incarceration and Inequality Project. "People who are socially and economically marginalized - particularly people of color living in poverty - are at greatest risk of arrest and incarceration, and the collateral consequences trap millions of people in a cycle of poverty." Noteworthy trends observed in this data: * Counties with low incarceration rates - in jails and prisons combined - are nearly 10 times as likely to have high college graduation rates as counties with high incarceration rates. These same low-incarceration counties are also about seven times as likely to have high median household incomes as high-incarceration counties. * Systemic racism and bias have led to entrenched racial disparities in both incarceration and economic well-being. In more than half of all counties in 2019, Black people were more than twice as likely as white people to be incarcerated in jail. In these high-disparity counties, Black households earned on average $22,552 less than white households and were more than twice as likely to be in poverty. * The higher a county's jail incarceration rate in 2009, the more likely that the county's median household income decreased over the next 10 years. Specifically, 42 percent of counties with high jail incarceration rates saw median household income decline. Conversely, only 27 percent of low jail incarceration rate counties saw decreases in median household income. To explore the data and learn more about your county, visit the Incarceration and Inequality Project Data Explorer The Incarceration and Inequality Project is guided by an advisory board of policy advocates, researchers and social service providers, including: Cecilia Chavez, Silicon Valley De-Bug; Lucius Couloute, Suffolk University; Ronald Day, Fortune Society; Noely Drummond, Center for Employment Opportunities; Julie Fisher-Rowe, Narrative Strategy Consultant; Thomas Gant, Center for Community Alternatives; Brandon Greene, Western Center on Law and Poverty; Courtney Hanson, California Coalition of Women Prisoners; Sandhya Kajeepeta, NAACP Legal Defense Fund; Brian Kaneda, Californians United for a Responsible Budget; and Shon Williams, Louisiana Center for Children's Rights. About the data: The IIP Data Explorer combines county-level data from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, the Census of Business Patterns, and Vera's Incarceration Trends dataset. For further details, visit https://www.vera.org/publications/iip-methods-and-data-sources 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 justice 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. Vera Institute of Justice, Inc. 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.