As many comrades know 2010 is International Stay Out Of Jail Year. Here at Freedom we are proud to do our part by publishing this short guide to avoiding incarceration. Globally over nine million people are in prison and not one of them likes it. We can’t guarantee anything but following these simple points will give you a fighting chance to avoid the pokey. The law is that in England and Wales so check up on the legislation if you live elsewhere. So here are three simple points to remember and the four ways of getting off should you be before the bench.
1.Avoiding Getting Caught.
Prevention is better than a cure. The simplest plan is to avoid committing crimes but in these days of the overarching state and voluminous legislation combined with the need to live it’s not that easy. While we would certainly not give tips to enable people to commit anti-social crimes most people who end up in court from demonstrations and political events had no idea they would end up in the cells when they got up that morning. The most important thing when going on any event is to have situational awareness. Watch what the cops are doing, are they putting on riot gear? Try to look out for advance signs like senior officers conferring in an agitated way then make sure you have escape routes planned in case of kettling.
2. Don’t make it easy for them.
If you have the misfortune to be arrested, don’t despair. The cops get a lot of convictions from people admitting to things that they don’t have enough evidence to prove. Some people admit to things they haven’t done. Thanks to the wonderful liberal democracy in which we live the cops still have to prove what you’ve done wrong not make you tell them. Say “no comment” to all police questions. For full information see Freedom 7021 7/11/2009, page 13, or on our website. You are entitled to a copy of the Police Codes of practice for treating detainees. Read it, and as you do reflect that these aren’t rights that were won lightly, that booklet is if fact distilled rioting
3 Work on your defence.
If you can get professional legal help. In these days of restricted legal aid you may find it hard enough just to get legal representation. However this doesn’t mean that once you’ve got a lawyer you can sit back and let them get on with it. By tradition solicitors are “instructed” by their clients. This is exactly what you should do. Tell them how you want to run your case and let them supply the legal expertise for dealing with the complexities of the system. They will not have the time (or more accurately, funding) to do everything you want so you and hopefully your mates need to go through the statements and CCTV footage, find witnesses and do all the donkey work so the facts are at your lawyer’s fingertips. Treat it as if you are having to defend yourself but with the bonus of a lawyer, which brings us to. Defending yourself. “Who defends themselves has a fool for a client” goes the old adage. Sometimes you may not get a choice but occasionally you will want to take on the system yourself. The advantages are that you will get more leeway to bring political points up and can speak directly to the jury in Crown Court. However you will be an outsider in a hostile environment and you will need to be better than a trained lawyer to get the same recognition. You can have a friend (called a MacKenzie friend after a case in 1970) to sit with you in court to help with note taking etc but they will not be able to speak on your behalf. If you do get off defending yourself you will have earned it. Good luck
Now to defences. Careful research has shown that there are only four defences to all crimes.
A. It wasn’t me.
A cast iron alibi is the best remedy to all manner of fit-ups. For this purpose it is best know what you’ve been doing so avoid use of those inebriating substances that can cloud the memory, ketamin for example. Ideally it’s best to associate only with ministers of the gospel but since these folk are very boring make sure the friends you do chose will be an asset in time of trouble. Try this simple test, get your pal so say a simple sentence such as “I’ve known Jane/John for 12 years and they’ve always tried to calm down aggressive situations“, then get them to say the same adding the words “your Honour” at the end. If they sound convincing, good. If not send them on a witness training course pronto.
B. I didn’t do it.
Many people have ended up with convictions for things done by other people, often in crowd situations where the police have inadvertently arrested the wrong person. Even in this age of CCTV mistakes are common. Notable was the reign of terror imposed in the early noughties by “The Phantom Lamper”. This fiend would rush in and hit (or “Lamp”) unsuspecting police officers while cunningly disguised as a nearby peaceful protester thus resulting in their arrest. Fortunately the court were able to distinguish the difference with the help of credible witnesses leading to the innocent parties being acquitted.
C. I did it but it’s not a crime.
The most common reason is acting in self defence or defence of others. English law uses the test of whether force used was “reasonable in the circumstances”, this is a complicated definition set out in section 76 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008. The key element is that the circumstances are as the defendant perceived them, allowance being given for not being able to “weigh to a nicety the exact measure of any necessary action”. Much of the reason for the endless moaning by the tabloids about “innocent householders” getting done for assaulting burglars is that they tell the truth that they have given them a hiding at the first opportunity because they thought they deserved it. Instead take a leaf out of the cops book. When they give evidence in court there is not an occasion when they didn’t fear for their safety, that of their colleagues, passing members of the public, a nearby cat stuck up a tree or even as in the recent case of R v Anton & Orton, a middle aged woman who the cop was truncheoning as she tried to handcuff herself to some railings. In all these circumstances they affirm that “I‘ve never seen such violence in all my years of policing” and “it was worse than the Poll Tax/Mayday/G8/that fight outside the chippy last week“- delete according to age and experience. In front of magistrates this is hard work but before a jury if you can portray the police as the aggressors wonders can follow. One comrade was acquitted despite footage of him throwing 11 sticks and two bottles at police because he was “defending a kettled crowd from cop violence”. Well done!
D. The voices told me to do it. (or any other form of mental incapacitation)
This is the very last option. A defence of insanity is only worthwhile if you are facing a very lengthy sentence and have a reasonable hope of persuading the authorities that you have the chance of making a miracle recovery later and being let out. Feigning sickness to get out of jail is a good wheeze but unfortunately restricted to the ruling class. Witness Ernest Saunders, jailed for corporate fraud but released as he was suffering from the incurable Alzheimer’s disease only to make a miraculous recovery.
E. I was very, very drunk.
This is not a defence it’s a confession-DON’T USE IT.
Finally, if you have avoided jail yourself extend solidarity to those less fortunate. Contact the Anarchist Black Cross to find out what you can do.
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Mindaugus Lenartavicius was imprisoned 2 years under the criminal damage act for his part in the G20 protests last year. He is feeling particularly isolated and would like some support. Mindaugus has also asked for music to be sent in to him – old school non-commercial punk! His address is:
Mindaugus Lenartavicius XT6221,
HMP Wandsworth,
Heathfield Road,
LONDON, SW18 3HS.