Critical Resistance is a U.S. based organization that works to build a mass movement to dismantle what it calls the prison-industrial complex (PIC). Critical Resistance's national office is in Oakland, California, with three additional chapters in New York City, Los Angeles, and Portland, Oregon. Critical Resistance has promoted the idea of abolishing the prison system from its first conference in 1998. It considers the prison-industrial complex to be a response to societal issues such as: homelessness, immigration, and gender non-conformity. Since 1998 it has taken part in numerous campaigns and projects to oppose prison building and to promote prisoner rights. Organization Critical Resistance was founded by Angela Davis, Rose Braz, Ruth Wilson Gilmore, and others in 1997. The organization is primarily volunteer member-based, with three staff members based in Oakland. Each chapter determines its own work independently. Projects included: Contributing to stopping California's prison building boom Copwatching Coalition-building and participation in the Community in Unity Coalition to stop construction of a 2,000-bed jail in the South Bronx. Facilitating education within prisons and the creation of political media by, for, and with prisoners and former prisoners Political education and leadership development Building a mass movement for creating genuine safety that does not rely on incarceration and control to address social, economic and political problems As of 2017, the Oakland chapter has three main campaigns/projects. Stop Urban Shield No San Francisco Jail Coalition Oakland Power Project Mission Critical Resistance takes an abolition stance against the prison industrial complex; saying that it draws from the legacy of the slavery abolition movement in the 1800s. CR abolitionists view the current prison system as not "broken" as many reformists do, but as working effectively at what they say is its true purpose: to contain, control, and kill those people that the state sees as threats, including people of color, immigrants, and members of the LGBT community. CR's goal is not to reform the prison system but to dismantle it completely. The three key dimensions of Critical Resistance, as identified by the organization co-founder Angela Davis, are public policy, community organizing, and academic research. CR utilizes academic work, legislative and other policy interventions, and grassroots campaigns in an effort to reverse the expansion of prisons and to call for the decriminalization of drugs and prostitution. Part of CR's mission statement asserts that it is the provision of basic necessities such as food, shelter, and freedom, and