HANDS OFF OUR STUDENTS: Jail Support for Mass Arrests 101 đď¸
On April 24th, 2024, the University of Southern California decided to let riot police loose on its own students, so I decided to spend the night on the sidewalk waiting for them to get released from jail.
If youâre a faculty member who wants to help your arrested students, but maybe donât know where to start, this is for you.
What is jail support?
Jail support refers to the process of assisting people in their interactions with the legal system.
When it comes to mass arrests, this can include getting arresteesâ full names and birthdays (which are necessary for tracking them through the system) before theyâre bussed away from the protest site or as theyâre getting off the buses at the jail. It can also include providing immediate moral/material support as people are getting released or providing longer-term support leading up to/after their court date.
Mandatory disclaimer: All of the details that follow are based on my personal experience doing post-release jail support for the very first time at the 77th St. station in South Central LA. As with everything in life, your mileage may vary, but hopefully this can serve as a helpful little first-person primer.
For more details on jail support, check out this piece from our comrade besties over at Teen Vogue.
Who can do this?
Literally anyone!
I saw a bunch of tweets earlier in the week that said jail support was needed at other schools, so, when news of the USC arrests broke, I just⌠picked up and went. Other than gathering your supplies (see below), thereâs no special prep necessary.
That being said, as with any collective action, if people tell you to stop doing something for the sake of the cause, stop doing that thing â even if you personally think that youâre helping. Donât be that person.
How do you do it?
Just search your social media platform of choice for â[school name] jail supportâ to find out where people are being taken and then bring yourself there. (Although, if at all possible, bring yourself there in your own car. More on that below.)
What should I bring?
The moral support aspect of jail support is huge, but relatively small acts of material support can make a world of difference for people who have just had one hell of an experience. Hereâs what I brought:
A car with a full tank of gas: Some people will come out of jail without their phone, wallet, anything and will basically be stranded unless a friend or family member can (1) figure out that they were arrested, period, (2) figure out which jail theyâre being held at, and (3) hang out for as long as it takes for them to be released. If youâre able and willing to shuttle groups of people back to campus, thatâs probably one of the most impactful things you could do.
If youâre planning on going with friends, it will likely be best to have each person travel in their own car. Carpooling is great in nearly all other circumstances, but maximizing the number of cars (and empty seats in those cars) is the move here.
Something to sit on: A camping chair, beach lounger, floor cushion, or really anything else that would be more comfortable than concrete. You might be there for hours, so you really donât want to scrimp on this.
Non-perishable snacks: Primarily for the arrestees who likely will not have eaten for hours, but also for you. I personally brought protein bars, animal crackers, Cheez-Its, and a bunch of kinds of chips. If youâre raiding your kitchen or going on a supermarket run, try to (1) strategically maximize ânutritional valueâ per dollar and (2) bring things that accommodate a bunch of different dietary needs (e.g., Oreos are vegan, plain corn tortilla chips will likely be gluten free and not have any dairy derivatives, etc.).
Hydration: For the arrestees, bottles of water and, if youâre able to splurge a bit, sports drinks for the electrolytes. For yourself, something caffeinated.
Medical supplies: A first aid kit and/or any individual pieces of a kit: gauze pads, antibiotic cream, antiseptic pain relief spray, athletic tape (recommended) or bandages, over-the-counter pain relief, and, lastly, some VapoRub since you never know what it might be able to fix đ
These are less common, but I always have some of this climbing âlotionâ on hand (heh) and itâs fantastic for all kinds of abrasions. (They say itâs just plants and beeswax, so any product along those lines should hopefully work well.) I also brought my TENS unit along for injury relief just in case.
Other personal care supplies: Hand sanitizer, baby wipes, and throat lozenges/mints were huge, and I also happened to have a ton of extra contact cases and small bottles of solution that I was very glad to have brought. Have you ever kept your contacts in for close to 24 hours? Imagine that, plus being handcuffed + unable to touch your face for many of those hours. Bring some contact supplies!
Things to keep yourself entertained: Some people were working on their laptops, I was crocheting, maybe you want to bring a party game, but do bring something because you will be there a while. Of course, youâre the one who decides when you leave, but let me tell you: once I started dropping people off, it was a no-brainer to drive right back to the jail and keep camping out knowing that there were still people who needed to be released. It also, again, may be a very long time between individual releases, so, even if youâre a driver, youâll have a lot of down time. Make sure to bring some enrichment for your enclosure.
A phone charger and portable battery: For yourself, but also for people who may be coming out with dead phones.
Warm weather gear: Even if you live in Southern California, youâre still literally hanging out on the sidewalk for hours, possibly well into the next morning. Be smarter than I was. Bundle up and bring a blanket, too.
Optionally: Your pet(s): Rookie mistake of the year, I forgot to bring my dogs, but my site was perfectly fine for any pets that are okay with crowds and, possibly, other animals. (Although, your mileage may vary.)
Itâs only a matter of time before the schools start hosting âTherapy Dogs to Cope with the Fact That We Chose to Sic Riot Police on Youâ events, so we might as well beat them to the punch before irony truly dies.
What happens while Iâm there?
Much like the protesters who youâre supporting, you just kind of⌠sit there with everyone else whoâs shown upâwhich will hopefully include volunteer lawyers. (Enormous shout out to the wonderful folks at Jail Support LA for holding it down all night.)
If theyâre not already wearing identifiable âlegal observerâ gear, theyâll very likely be the ones making the rounds throughout the crowd (asking people if theyâre waiting for any particular arrestee to come out) or standing closest to the buildingâs front doors. If you are able to provide rides, track them (or, otherwise, any other lead organizer) down and let them know as soon as you get there.
Every time someone comes out, everyone applauds for them (đĽšđĽšđĽš) and they immediately do a little exit interview with the jail support lawyers or lead organizers who are there. (âDo you have any injuries? Do you have any belongings you lost on campus? Do you need a ride home? Letâs get your booking information taken down,â and so on.)
If they donât have friends or family who were able to make it and wait it out, the group will get them snacks and drinks, do any necessary first aid and personal care, and make sure theyâre connected with a driver.
Speaking of first aid, if anyone comes out and mentions that they got thrown around, it would be a very good idea to do a super quick concussion screening. Even if they say they feel fine, itâs not uncommon for people to only start feeling obvious symptoms days later, so make sure you do it. Itâs important.
Two little tests are pretty dead giveaways that someone should get to a doctor ASAP. One of them is the standard âfinger to noseâ field sobriety test, but with your eyes closed. If someone has no idea where their nose is when their sense of sight is taken out of the equation, thatâs not a good sign.
For the second, have someone put their hands on their hips, close their eyes again, and then try to stand on one foot. (Out of an abundance of caution, you may want to have someone stand behind them as a spotter and float hands around their torso.) If they start swaying like a tree when their eyes are closed (or even with their eyes open), that is not great.
If youâre worried about someone after those tests, tell them that they need to rest harder than theyâve rested before and make sure they have someone else who can bring them to a doctor within the next day or so. Make sure they also know to stay away from bright lights and screens until theyâre feeling completely better, and, again, rest. When youâre concussed, if youâre not sleeping, you just sit there like a potato. No physical, mental, or cognitive exertion; just full potato.
Finally, if itâs nighttime, make sure they know they should close their eyes on the drive home so theyâre not staring into headlights the whole ride back.
Is jail support safe to do?
I certainly felt perfectly safe.
That being said, Iâm only writing about my experience with post-release jail support; I wasnât on campus to support as the arrests were happening, so mileage will definitely vary here. Only take the risks you feel comfortable taking and make sure you are fully prepared for as many risks as possible.
In any case, that night, the LAPD had a helicopter hovering right above the station watching us⌠literally just sit there, but that was it. Otherwise, we were only disrupted by a bunch of solidarity honks from the cars and Metro buses that were driving by. In terms of police presence, the only officer I saw after showing up was the one assigned to door duty who was letting people in to use the station bathroom throughout the night. It was incredibly chill and, quite honestly, one of the best uses of my time in a very, very long time.
I stayed up until 5:00 AM and 15/10 will do it again, absolutely no question.
Did you find any part of that helpful?
If so, I think it would be really neat if you could make a donation (everything counts!) to the Palestinian Childrenâs Relief Fund and/or any familyâs personal fundraising page that you see floating around.
