Roundtable: De-Implementation of Criminal Justice Practices: A Possible Abolitionist Praxis?

Session Submission Type: Roundtable Sessions

Abstract/Description

De-implementation, a process developed from implementation science, is a justice-oriented, evidence-informed, ethically-implicated, and critical next step toward abolishing ineffective and inefficient programs that disproportionately harm racially minoritized and socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals, families, and communities (Rock & Lea, 2025). In this roundtable conversation, we will discuss the promise of de-implementation as a possible form of abolitionist praxis in the context of the criminal-legal system. The presenters will discuss what de-implementation, and its barriers and facilitators, could look like within the legal and carceral systems including jails/prisons, policing practices, juvenile system, and courts.

Sub Unit

• Area XIV. Roundtables

Authors

• Jacoba Rock, Boise State University

• Charles Lea, Columbia University

Discussants

• Jane Palmer, American University

• Jackie Cosse, New York University