|
advice on being approached by police to negotiate |
|
|
|
|
Sunday, 05 June 2005 |
As we were finishing our recent guidance on what to do if approached by
the police, it came to our attention that a number of police forces,
including Sergeant Stephen French of Lothian & Borders Police (the
force covering Edinburgh) has contacted various individuals to request
that they negotiate with them regarding protests in Edinburgh as part
of the mobilisation against the G8 Summit. Though much of what we wrote
previously applies here, there are interesting implications to these
emails, of which more later, and we offer the following advice to
anyone who receives such unwelcome contact.THE ADVICE
Some groups will already have taken a decision to liaise or negotiate
with the police. The Dissent network and associated groups are
structured non-hierarchically and autonomously. This means that no one
is in the position to negotiate or has the mandate, even if that was so
desired, to negotiate on behalf of the network. Groups within the
network need to consider very carefully whether they want to negotiate
with the police. If they decide to do so, it would be better to go
through the normal channels rather than replying to emails or letters.
Therefore we advise the following:
1. Do not respond. This is for several reasons.
a. You are under no obligation to speak to the police.
b. By responding you are indicating to the police that you do have some
sort of authority and that you are an organiser - yes, they can think
like that.
c. Even by responding negatively you are opening a dialogue; as with
'no comment' interviews, the best policy is to ignore them as much as
possible. Plus, it makes it harder for them to say you 'were
uncooperative' in the press.
d. Experience has shown that the police are totally untrustworthy in
these sort of negotiations and will easily go back on their word. They
are negotiating for their benefit, and those of there political
masters, and not ours. They are seeking to minimize the impact of the
protests, not facilitate it.
2. Contact your group/network
Let them know so you can take measure of the situation together and if necessary offer the appropriate support.
3. Contact the G8 Legal Support Group
We are monitoring such incidents and other police harassment: g8legalsupport@riseup.net
THE IMPLICATIONS
Firstly, judging by the people who have been approached, the
communications say more about the level of the local police's
intelligence and priorities than about the people receiving them.
From what we can tell the people approached are those who have put
their head above the parapet for various reasons and thus come to the
attention of the state.
The police are clearly working on a hierarchical model and in the
absence of other materials this model means they pick on the more
visible of our movement. This is life and why people should avoid
inferring too much about those who have received the letters &
emails. Rather it better to read between the lines of these
communications and see just how the state is approaching us. In this
case, it would appear their intelligence is more based on a trawl of
the internet than anything more sinister.
Secondly, it is a common police tactic to pick out and isolate
individuals. This is as much a divide and rule tactic as anything else.
It disempowers the individual by increasing the pressure and creating
artificial divides beween them and those around them. The best way to
deal with this is to refuse to allow the state to set our personal
agendas and to put aside the paranoia they are attempting foist on us.
This is best achieved by simply ignoring them outright as much as
possible.
IF YOU DO RESPOND
If you are part of a group which is negotiating with the police then
this needs to be done in a clearly structured way with a clear mandate
from your group. There are serious implications to being identified as
an 'organizer', that can lead to jail time, so responding to these
letters, even on an ad hoc basis could be providing the evidence that
you are in fact an organizer.
There are also issues around the fact that you may agree to
something, but if this is not properly communicated to your group, or
they chose to ignore you, then you still may be held liable for any
subsequent events. Negotiating brings many other responsibilities which
are not necessarily obvious, or explained.
The most important point is that people do not act unilaterally when
responding to the police in these situations. Also, as noted above,
allowing yourself to be dragged into a dialogue with the police opens a
relationship with them which they will exploit, perhaps to ask you
to become an informer through playing on political and personal
differences within the group. This is not just taking money in exchange
for money, but can be done through innocently going for a drink with
them and becoming drawn into gossiping about your groups and the
various dynamics. The police are not your friends, they are doing a job.
The G8 Legal Support Group
For more information on your rights please visit the following
websites:
www.g8legalsupport.info
www.freebeagles.org
www.ldmg.org.uk
www.activistslegalproject.org |
|
Last Updated ( Saturday, 11 June 2005 )
|
Support Groups 
Tuesday, 26 June 2007
Home | Dissent! Introduction | What is the G8? | Practical Info | Action Info | Support Groups | Resources | Donate | Internationals | Get Involved | Local Groups | Working Groups | Contact Us | Site Map | 
