You can watch this episode of Right Now With Perry Bacon above or by following this show on YouTube or Substack. You can read a transcript here.
In the 2022 and 2024 elections, Republicans successfully used the issues of crime and immigration to cast Democrats as insufficiently concerned about the safety of average Americans, according to Insha Rahman, president of the Vera Institute of Justice, a left-leaning organization that focuses on criminal justice issues. But she says it’s a mistake for Democrats to lean into “tough on crime” rhetoric and policies such as hiring tens of thousands more police officers, as some in the party are now calling for. Instead, in the latest edition of Right Now, Rahman advocates a “serious about safety” approach. That means Democrats should use the term safety instead of crime. And they should embrace a comprehensive approach that includes strong but accountable police officers, expanded recovery and treatment programs for people with mental illnesses, and community-wide strategies to reduce gun violence. She argues that voters don’t want a repeat of the 1990s playbook of drastically increasing sentences for crimes and hiring more officers. Rahman cities Baltimore and Chicago as places already using “serious about safety” tactics.
