Many prison reformists yearn for the end of imprisonment but find themselves confronted by questions which seem difficult to answer:

• What do we do about those who pose “a danger” to society? Don’t we have to solve that problem before we can advocate the abolition of prisons?

• Is it possible to work for short term prison reforms without being coopted?

• If we devote our energies to abolition, are we not abandoning prisoners to intolerable conditions?

• How can we work for needed prison reforms which require structural change within the society, before a new social order comes about?

As some of these important questions are addressed, we will discover that many reforms can be achieved in an abolition context. The primary issue for abolitionists is not always one of reform over/against abolition. There are “surface reforms” which legitimize or strengthen the prison system, and there are “abolishing-type reforms” which gradually diminish its power and function. Realizing the differences requires some radical shifts in our perceptions, lest we fall into the trap which has plagued earlier generations. Our goal is to replace prison, not improve it.

Over the years, Critical Resistance has generated numerous organizing resources to resist policing. As an abolitionist organization, Critical Resistance supports abolitionist reforms to dismantle the systems of policing and works to create viable alternatives in our communities. From defunding strategies to building alternatives to community safety and defense, each anti-policing resource Critical Resistance has made bolsters the grassroots work of our chapters’ projects and campaigns, and materializes CR’s theory of change: dismantle, change, build. We hope our allies and movements partners find these resources useful and are used to amplify wins against policing, for prison industrial complex abolition around the world.

A list of fun infographics on various abolitionist topics

The three flavors of Abolition we have encountered are as follows: (1) autonomist (2) insurrectionary (3) and procedural:

1. Autonomist Abolition entails a strategy of fugitivity or constant refusal of the instruments of capture and their “catch all solutions” while, at the same time, building hyperlocal (though dispersed in undetectable networks) infrastructures for sustaining bodies (people, collectives, swarms) in resistance.

2. Insurrectionary Abolition entails a direct confrontation and antagonizing of the “big P” Police and its constant attempts to maintain order, while simultaneously attempting to liberate occupied territories.

3. Procedural Abolition entails winning and defending non-reformist reforms enshrined in policies that diminish the reach of the carceral state while simultaneously redirecting collective capacities towards social infrastructures that do not reinstate carceral instruments of capture and control.