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...

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.

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:

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. 🧵

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.

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.

We're proud to be at the DNC Summer Meeting today talking about a better way forward on community safety. For too long, "tough on crime" politics have dominated the conversation on public safety. Their policies have failed communities and missed the mark on what actually makes us safe.

From Republicans and Democrats alike, voters are usually offered only one approach to public safety: "we need to get tough on crime." But time and time again, our polling has shown that voters prefer when candidates talk about investing in real solutions to prevent crime:

While Republicans have made crime a core part of their platform, their policy proposals to get "tougher" don't actually work. Democrats, on the other hand, have fallen short on acknowledging real concerns about crime or offering their own path forward.

President Trump is laying the groundwork to weaponize the issue of crime in the 2026 midterms. “We as Democrats should be careful not to cede the issue of public safety to Donald Trump and Republicans. We should own the issue of public safety, because it matters to voters.” -Rep. Ritchie Torres

"Washington, D.C.’s most promising reductions in violence have come from community-led, accountability-driven interventions—not punitive crackdowns." Trump's federal takeover in D.C. and his drastic cuts to successful community violence intervention programs are making us less safe.

Crime is down. Yet Virginia candidates are still facing “soft on crime” attacks. The right response isn’t to retreat or double down on “tough” rhetoric—it’s to highlight proven investments, like violence intervention programs, that are making communities safer.

Today, President Trump announced that he is seizing control of the Metropolitan Police Department for 30 days and deploying 800 National Guard troops to Washington, D.C. Let's be clear: this isn't about making communities safer. It's about hoarding power and creating a political spectacle. 🧵

GOOD NEWS: FBI data shows that crime decreased in every category in 2024. We need to be clear about what actually drives down crime and makes communities safe: community violence intervention, mental health and substance use treatment, housing, and more.

Trump's deployment of federal forces in Washington, D.C. is nothing but a show of brute force. If his administration actually cared about reducing crime, they wouldn't have canceled federal funding for programs to address homelessness and public safety in places like D.C.

Too many politicians have lost sight of what our communities actually want and need when it comes to safety. @replsimon.bsky.social sets the record straight: we should invest in things like mental health treatment, education, food security, and better policing. #NN25 @netrootsnation.bsky.social

Safety & Justice as a Winning Democratic Strategy: From Recent Electoral Victories Across the Country, What’s Actually Working #NN25, 8/7, 2:15PM CT @anatosaurus.bsky.social, @wordstowinby.bsky.social✨Insha Rahman, @veraaction.bsky.social✨ @replsimon.bsky.social✨ @richardafowler.bsky.social

Democrats in the Bay Area, New York City, and elsewhere are refusing to let the opposition dominate the narrative on crime and public safety. Join @veraaction.bsky.social, @replsimon.bsky.social, @anatosaurus.bsky.social, and @richardafowler.bsky.social Thursday at 2:15 CDT for a #NN25 deep dive!

Join us alongside @replsimon.bsky.social, @anatosaurus.bsky.social, and @richardafowler.bsky.social for a #NN25 deep dive on how progressives can win (and have been!) by making safety and justice a core part of their platform without going "tough on crime." Thursday at 2:15pm CT in room 292!

The #NN25 Featured Panels range across some of the most pressing challenges facing not only the progressive community, but our democracy. It's never "Should I go to a featured panel?" but "WHICH featured panel do I go to?" (Psst. W/all featured panels recorded, you don't have to miss a minute.)

Safety & Justice as a Winning Democratic Strategy: From Recent Electoral Victories Across the Country, What’s Actually Working 8/7, 2:15PM CT @anatosaurus.bsky.social, @wordstowinby.bsky.social✨Insha Rahman, @vera.org & @veraaction.bsky.social✨ @replsimon.bsky.social✨ @richardafowler.bsky.social

🚨 NEW: Crime rates officially fell in every category in 2024, per FBI data. 📉 Want to keep this progress up? Continue investing in things like jobs, treatment for addiction and mental health, and violence intervention programs to deliver on public safety.

The dramatic drop in crime many major cities is undeniable. Investments in things like jobs, housing, and intervention helped us get here. But this trend isn't a given. Trump's cuts to community-based safety programs threaten the progress we've made.

Cities credit investments in things like jobs, intervention, and community partnerships for declining rates of violent crime. Meanwhile, the Trump admin withholding funds from crucial programs is making us less safe, Cleveland Mayor @justinmbibb.bsky.social explains.

We can do more than just react to crime when it happens. We can also work to prevent it. Vera Action director Insha Rahman joined the @democraticmayors.bsky.social Community Over Chaos Summit in Cleveland to discuss how cities are investing in strategies to address the root causes of crime.

If you ask Donald Trump, he'll tell you that bail reform has turned America's cities are crime-infested war zones. But if you follow the data, you'll see how in cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia, ending or limiting cash bail has coincided with declining crime rates.

America's crime rates are quickly dropping—despite political rhetoric suggesting otherwise. Vera Action director Insha Rahman talked to @richardafowler.bsky.social about the community safety investments cities made to bring crime rates back down to pre-pandemic lows:

Friday, 7/11, 12 ET—Join a critical discussion on the harm the Trump cuts have had on public health and community safety. @veraaction.bsky.social @aclu.org @wrencollective.bsky.social and the Medical Justice Alliance: bit.ly/4nz1ss2

Vera Action director Insha Rahman will join the Wren Collective alongside @aclu.org, @ejusa.bsky.social, and the Medical Justice Alliance in a virtual briefing to discuss impacts of the Trump cuts on community health and safety. Friday, July 11, at 12pm ET. Register: bit.ly/4nz1ss2

A *very* interesting report from @veraaction.bsky.social using polling data to show that the issue of crime was both a) still salient in NYC's mayoral primary and b) not a liability for Zohran Mamdani.

Crime was a top concern in the #NewYorkCity mayoral primary. Zohran Mamdani's clear and consistent message about safety, accountability, and justice won over voters and shielded him against "soft on crime" attacks, Vera Action exit polling shows.

NEW: Results from the New York City mayoral primary race indicate that voters want a serious, solutions-oriented approach to crime and safety. In a city where public safety remains a top concern for voters, "tough on crime" messaging fell flat, according to Vera Action exit polling. 🧵

Candidates for elected office take note: recent voters back comprehensive solutions to safety over more incarceration.

The more voters learn about Trump’s anti-immigration policies, the less they support them. While most Americans want solutions to improve our immigration system, the administration's cruel and extortionate mass deportation tactics are broadly unpopular.

NEW from the Alliance for Safety and Justice: 8 of 10 voters agree that "the Trump administration and the #DOJ should reinstate funding for victim services, community violence prevention programs and youth outreach." Across party lines, voters want to fully fund the things proven to make us safer.

In last night's debate, candidates for #NewYorkCity mayor were caught in the same trap: playing self-defense against "defund the police" accusations. Our polling shows that against those attacks, Democrats succeed when they focus on real solutions and don’t go "tough on crime."

NEW: A strong majority of Americans (89%) support the federal funding of programs that work with survivors of crime. Trump’s attack on crucial safety and justice programs contradicts what our communities actually want and need.

Philadelphia's progressive District Attorney Larry Krasner has consistently won elections by embracing key reforms to make the city safer and more just and refusing to embrace "tough on crime" politics. From his campaign website:

Police cannot be the singular answer to every problem. By canceling millions of dollars in federal grants, the Trump administration is trying to dismantle programs that have been working for decades to make communities safer.

Threatening the fundamental right to challenge arbitrary and abusive incarceration by suspending habeas corpus is the opposite of justice. Voters are looking to leaders in the House and Senate to stand up to Trump’s power grab.

Take it from a retired police lieutenant: “Law enforcement cannot do the job alone.” Our safety is threatened by Trump’s abrupt cuts to federal grants for community-based organizations working on violence prevention, victim services, reentry support, and youth development.

Safety is the top priority for New Yorkers in this year’s mayoral election. But voters deserve better than more “tough on crime” rhetoric from candidates. They want real, comprehensive solutions to improve community safety. 🗽This ad from @vera.org gets it right:

Instead of a system that prioritizes incarceration, we can fund solutions that actually work for us: ✨ Quality public schools for every child ✨ Affordable housing ✨ Treatment for drug addiction Check out our toolkit with @veraaction.bsky.social: www.wemakethefutureaction.us/resources-do...

It’s clear that Americans demand action to improve our immigration system. But new research from @npnewamericans.bsky.social shows that voters oppose Trump's vague and lawless targeting of all undocumented people, especially those with longstanding ties to the United States.

Trump’s cuts to DOJ grants make us less safe. Federally funded community prevention programs have worked for decades to drive crime rates down since their peaks in the early 1990s. Taking them away could mean losing much of the progress we’ve made to improve community safety.

Is criminal justice reform possible with Donald Trump in the White House? @vera.org provides some answers, some outstanding questions, and some hope for a way forward in their First 100 Days report.

Investing in mental health support reduces crime. Experts know it. Voters know it. Even politicians know it. And yet, Trump canceled $1 billion in student mental health funds, weeks short of the third anniversary of the Uvalde school shooting in which 21 people were killed.

Police chiefs across Michigan are calling on the state legislature to continue investing in community violence intervention programs, which they say are a reason for historically low crime rates.

Vera Action polling has shown that 90 percent of voters believe that increasing access to mental health care would help reduce crime. Reckless decisions like these speak for themselves; Trump has no interest in addressing Americans’ concerns about safety.