Episode 215: Trafficking in the Fear of Crime
Crime, crime, crime! We all want to be safe, but are our politicians using crime to fearmonger, influencing our choices? What is the truth about bail reform in the states that have enacted it? How do you engage with someone who has been scared by all the fear mongering? To answer those questions and more, L. Joy is bringing Insha Rahman, Vice President, Advocacy & Partnerships at Vera Institute, to the front of the class.
Homework:
Not sure what fear mongering by a politician looks like? Revisit the Willie Horton Campaign ad (NYC Studios Article & video) https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/takeaway/segments/crime-reshaped-criminal-justice
Learn more about the work the Vera Institute does https://www.vera.org/
Revisit #SundayCivics episode 158 #WorldHomelessDay2021 https://www.sundaycivics.org/episodes/episode158
Our Guest:
Insha Rahman is the vice president of advocacy and partnerships. As a member of Vera's leadership team, she helps to incubate new work in the areas of prosecutorial reform, bail, and decarceration, with a focus on developing advocacy-related strategies and accountability. Having practiced as a public defender before coming to Vera, she is a nationally-recognized expert on bail and has developed bail legislation and policies, including recently passed reforms in New York State, and provided technical assistance and training to advocates, judges, defense attorneys, and prosecutors on bail reform, pretrial justice, and reducing jail incarceration.
From 2016-2017, Insha served as staff to the Independent Commission on New York City Criminal Justice & Incarceration Reform, a blue-ribbon commission chaired by former Chief Justice Jonathan Lippman of the New York State Court of Appeals that developed a blueprint to close Rikers Island. She has been quoted as an expert on bail in The Nation, City and State, New York Times, NPR, and PBS, among other outlets. Prior to Vera, Insha was a public defender at The Bronx Defenders. She earned her J.D. from the City University of New York School of Law and her B.A. in Africana Studies from Vassar College. She currently serves on the boards of the New York Civil Liberties Union, Brooklyn Community Bail Fund, and the New York State Appellate Division's Indigent Defense Organization Oversight Committee.
