By North Coast Earth First!, Summer 1990
This booklet is designed as a primer to help the everyday activist survive the jail experience. It is intended to be used as a supplement to the legal section of the nonviolence training. It is unofficial and should be understood to be a distillation of experience of local direct action groups.
The Arresting Process
If you have warrants, traffic or otherwise, get them cleared up before risking arrest.
once it starts but it frequently is a very creative and innovative process.
Being arrested, handcuffed, taken thru the booking process and transported to jail can be a harrowing experience. Be nonviolent personally and be prepared.
In one manner or another all civil disobedience (CD) actions lead to arrest. The police usually will give a final warning that your actions are illegal just before the arrest.
If a Painless Arrest is Desired
Try to communicate with and humanize the arresting officer as soon as possible. Stand up when requested or touched and tell him/her that you are not going to resist arrest. Anything less than physical cooperation at this point will probably be translated into an additional charge of resisting arrest.
Non-cooperation
Some people prefer to make a personal statement by refusing to go to jail under their own power. The police may drag you, carry you, mace you, or use pressure holds but you may be sure that they will not treat you kindly. Expect some pain in addition to the extra charge of resisting arrest.
Never voluntarily touch the arresting officer with any part of your body or you may be charged with assaulting a police officer.
It is always prudent to be arrested where there are lots of people witnessing the event.
The Booking Process
You will probably be handcuffed, searched, and have your picture taken near the arresting site. Most everything you have with you will be taken from you and placed in a large envelope for safekeeping.
You will be asked for your name and address at this time. Decisions about giving names should have been made well before this point in the process.
Your Choices in this Matter Are:
- Tell the truth and take the chance that you will not be cited out automatically.
- Tell a lie. At the Samoa action several protesters sought to temporarily avoid telling the truth by giving the obviously false name of Judi Bari. The judge was not amused and fined them an additional $385 for giving false information to a police officer.
- “Decline to state at this time.” This is a grey area and annoys the police but usually works. Again, at Samoa, several protesters used this device and did not give their names until arraignment. They were initially charged with giving false information but that charge was dropped at arraignment with no resulting additional fines.
The legal collective will have been in communication with the local police on this issue and should have a recommendation. Check with them before the action.
It is important to remember that the police generally will charge you with more crimes than the D.A. will pursue in court.
Citations
When you commit a minor crime you frequently are asked to accept a citation, which is similar to a speeding ticket with all the pertinent information listed on it. By signing the citation you are free to go now but obligate yourself to return to court at a time more convenient to the system.
Citing out is sometimes necessary because of your time limitations but it generally is not in your best interests or the best interest of the group. It is good to have supporting friends around you when going through the court process and possible ensuing jail term, Citing out also relieves some of the pressure on the system right now and makes it easier for it to accommodate the rest of the protestors. When many people want to see the judge and/or serve their time right now it presents a tactical problem for the local authorities and hence the sentences handed down tend to be somewhat lighter.
Solidarity around not citing out is very important but it is sometimes unavoidable and you should feel no guilt about it. If you do cite out you will obviously have to give a believable name and address to the officer issuing the citation.
You probably will have many chances along the journey to cite out so you usually can afford to hang in there a while.
Transporting to Jail
When there are a lot of protestors arrested the actual jail cannot accommodate you all and many/all will be housed in alternative accommodations such as the local school gymnasium. You must, however, be prepared for real jail time.
At jail you will be fingerprinted and may have to put on jail clothing. You will be asked for more booking information (like your name in case you have refused to give it ten times already).
You may be allowed your one phone call at this point. If you have written the number of the legal collective on your arm instead of your hand it won’t have been washed off when you scrubbed the fingerprint ink off your hands. Only one person from your group needs to call and report in.
You will now be put into a cell and treated exactly like the other prisoners Congratulations! You have just joined the ranks of King, Gandhi, Goldman, Mandella, and countless other great people who have followed their conscience into jail. Ain’t it empowering?
What to Take and What Not to Take
It is probably best to leave your I. D. with a support person as you may not be willing to disclose your identity right away.
Don’t take anything you can’t part with permanently. Some things get lost and some things like books and playing cards may be allowed into the cell but not back out. They then become the property of the jail and gifts to future inmates.
Many times you get to wear your own clothes instead of jail clothes. It is best to dress in layers for cold if you are apt to be in jail for a few days. It is worth getting hot and sweaty at arrest to keep from freezing at night. You can always use excess clothing to make a pillow if they don’t give you one.
A little money is good to have with you as that will be put on the books and may give you the ability to buy things from the commissary, (candy, tampons, toothbrushes, etc,)
Take some dimes to make telephone calls with either during jail or after you are released (sometimes in the middle of the night).
About Jailors
It is your jailors job to see that you feel punished and to move you through the system at the speed that the authorities have decided upon. Jailors come in all shapes, sizes, colors, genders and political persuasions. Some are nice to you and some are not. Be polite to them and dialogue with them whenever you can. Always remember that they are not obligated to tell you the truth and they are capable of spreading rumors, deception, half-truths, and outright lies to divide you and find out what they want to know or to gain their own ends. For practical purposes, never trust them more than about three on a ten-point scale.
Jailors don’t offer you anything. Not a toothbrush or the time of day. If you want something. ask for it. Chances are they will let you have it, but certainly not if you don’t ask.
About the Food
Your mother definitely would not approve. At its best it can be almost edible. Vegetarianism is a foreign concept but it doesn’t hurt to ask for fresh raw vegetables. Ask, don’t complain!
If you are acquainted with fasting, now is a good time for a cleansing fast. Drink plenty of water. You are only here for a few days. Be strong and show the other inmates that protesters don’t expect special treatment. Don’t complain! This will help in your relations with the other prisoners. We are just like them and can best aid our cause by accepting the same lot as they.
Doing Your Time
A cell or a cage, that’s up to you. A cell is the building block of life and a cage is where a beast is held. Your actions will determine which you are in. While you are not in control of your life at this point your attitude is up to you. Your strongest assets are your humor and imagination and they cannot be locked up by anybody but you. Sing, dance, invent games (make a paper chess set. towel volley ball, sock hackysak, etc.), have a talent show and strut your stuff. Laugh and have fun because without fun, jail can be the punishment that your oppressors want it to be. Remember that you are here because you asked to be arrested. You are focused and one pointed and you are making a statement with your presence.
If you are housed in the regular jail you are going to be the new kids on the cell block and you may be picked on and at least verbally abused. Act the way you would act in someone else’s house. Dialogue with the inmates and show your sincerity and humor. This can be a perfect opportunity to get a captive audience for our cause. A lot of these people will be out before long and if we’ve made them aware of the reasons we’re doing this, they can become converts and strong allies in the local area, Make friends, share your stuff, organize, be nonviolent, learn from the other inmates. Be thankful that you are going to be free soon.
Support People
The unsung heroes of any action are the support people. They are your friends who track you through the jail system and make sure that you are all right. They bring you things in jail and cheer you on with their signs and their presence. You should be represented by a local support person and someone at home if you are from out of the area.
You need to have the buddy system in jail so that if you get separated from the group, someone will be aware of it and get word to the support people on the outside.
Legal Terms
Arraignment: You are expected to identify yourself and enter a plea. This is supposed to occur within seventy two hours of arrest and booking, Non-cooperation may be carried over into these proceedings but it takes a lot of courage. Some demonstrators have refused to cooperate with the court by refusing to identify themselves, enter a plea or speak to the judge as a person who has any authority over them. The penalties for such non-cooperation can be severe because many judges take such action to be a personal affront as well as an insult to the system. If a large number of demonstrators employ this tactic it can be very effective.
Pleas: There are three general kinds of pleas.
- Not guilty or Creative Plea – you wish to challenge the charges brought against you
- Guilty – You committed the crime and await your punishment.
- No Contest/Nolo Contendere – you do not wish to challenge the charges against you but you are not going to admit anything. This plea is treated the same as a guilty plea but it leaves you with a little dignity and is a favorite one among many C-Ders.
Probation: A stipulated period of time during which you must not violate any laws or sometimes just certain specific laws without the risk of being sent to jail for an indicated period of time known as a suspended sentence. At Samoa the summary probation was for a period of one year and the suspended sentence was six months. The specific laws that were not to be violated without breaking probation were trespass and blocking traffic laws. There are two general kinds of probation.
- Formal probation – you must report periodically to an officer of the court who oversees parts of your life.
- Summary probation – just don’t get caught breaking any of the stipulated laws.
Own Recognizance (OR): You sign a citation and the judge will take your word that you will return to court at a stipulated time.
Bail: You must put up a certain sum of money as a guarantee that you will return or forfeit that money.
Conclusion
It is our hope that this rushed handbook will aid your understanding of the jail experience and nonviolent civil disobedience. It is not meant as the final word on the subject, Add to it or plagiarize any of it freely. Every action is different and every county, judge, DA, and jail is different. There is no such thing as a generic jail experience.
In the final analysis, your nonviolent civil disobedience is a statement of your personal and political convictions and your individual response to arrest must be based on these considerations.