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Founded in 1961, the Vera Institute of Justice is an independent nonprofit national research and policy organization in the United States. Based primarily in New York City, Vera also has offices in Washington, D.C., and New Orleans. Vera joins research, analysis, and expert assistance in order to plan, implement, and evaluate solutions to weaknesses in systems that deliver justice, such as courts, law enforcement, immigration, and social services. The Institute typically works in partnership with local, state, or national officials, and is active across the United States and around the world. ==Founding== The Vera Institute of Justice was founded in New York City in 1961 by philanthropist Louis Schweitzer and magazine editor Herb Sturz. Schweitzer and Sturz considered the bail system used by the city at the time to be unjust, as it granted release based largely on income. Working with criminal justice leaders, they explored the problem, developed a solution, and rigorously tested it. Within a few years, they had demonstrated that New Yorkers too poor to afford bail but with strong ties to their communities could be released and still show up for trial. Eventually, the model devised by Vera was adopted in many municipalities across the United States and led to the Bail Reform Act of 1966, which was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson and was the most significant reform of the bail system in America since 1789. ==Funding and support== In 1966, the Vera Institute of Justice received assistance from the Ford Foundation to turn the foundation into a private nonprofit organization.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Mission and Origins )〕 The Ford Foundation continues to support the Vera Institute, alongside Atlantic Philanthropies, the Pew Charitable Trust, the Carnegie Corporation and the Open Society Institute. Vera is also aligned with an international group of criminal justice think tanks known as Altus. Vera's annual operating budget is approximately $25 million. About 66% of its funding comes from work with governments, while the remaining amount is supplied through agencies and other donors. ==Prison commission== The Vera Institute of Justice organized the Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons, to study issues relating to prison violence and abuse. The commission was co-chaired by former U.S. Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach and former Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, John Joseph Gibbons.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Mission )〕 On June 8, 2006, the commission released its report to Congress, recommending more attention be given to address problems of violence, insufficient mental health treatment, and health care in prisons. At a broader level, the commission criticized U.S. policy towards incarceration as costly and ineffective. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Vera Institute of Justice」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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