Critical Perspectives on Policing: Abolition and Alternatives

Session Submission Type: Complete Thematic Panel

Abstract/Description

In response to growing movements advocating for police abolition and the exploration of alternative forms of public safety, this panel presents critical perspectives on policing across varies contexts. The panel brings together scholars who are navigating the terrain between police abolition and applied grounded work. To that end, the work engages the challenges, limitations, and possibilities of alternative forms of policing, included those engaged directly with policy makers and those rising from the grassroots. From Belfast, to Oakland, to Phoenix, the scholars will present how some communities are implementing alternatives to traditional forms of policing. Collectively, these papers contribute to a nuanced understanding of the complexities surrounding policing, abolition, and the pursuit of justice.

Sub Unit

• Area X. Critical Criminology / 74. Abolition

Individual Presentations

• School Police Abolition: Reconceptualizing School Safety in the wake of George Floyd - Rekia Jibrin, University of California, Santa Cruz

• Community-Based Restorative Justice: Building Alternatives to Formal Policing in Northern Ireland - Allely Albert, Queen's University Belfast

• Punks versus police? The unexpectedly complex case of Belfast, Northern Ireland - Jim Donaghey, Ulster University

• Applied Police Abolition - Luis Alberto Fernandez, Northern Arizona University

Chair

• Kristen Maziarka, Hofstra University

Discussant

• Meghan G. McDowell, Northern Arizona University

Organized by a Division or external group?

Abolition Working Group