Arrestee and Legal Support
Legal guidance - going on a protest
Note: Information contained on these pages applies to England and Wales only. Scottish activists ...
Know Your Rights
Where possible our Legal Support team will deliver a Know Your Rights training either in person o...
Five key messages
No action/protest is ever 100% risk free. So even if you have no intention of being arrested, its...
Witnessing an arrest
Anyone engaging in Non-Violent Direct Action or other forms of protest can be arrested. It is all...
Witnessing a stop and search
When attending a protest it is important to be prepared to witness, or even be subject to, a stop...
Bustcards - what they are and what they provide
Bustcards are printed cards that provide key information in the event of an arrest at a protest. ...
Civil law - injunctions
Some actions may carry the additional risk of breaching an injunction. For information on injunct...
Considering an Arrest
There is no such thing as an 'unarrestable offence'. This is something we should all know when pa...
Post arrest support
Planning an action?
The majority of the things you need to think about are in the Action Planning book, elsewhere on ...
Volunteering with Arrestee and Legal Support
For opportunities other than those described below, see the Volunteer website
Back Office
Without a Back Office we wouldn’t know who’d been arrested and therefore which police station the...
Police Station Supporters (PSS)
Role of Police Station Supporters (PSSs) Greet and emotionally support arrestees as they leave t...
Court supporters
This page is about supporting at plea hearings and at magistrates court trials. It describes the...
Guide to A&LS Back Office for BO volunteers
Note: This document supersedes the document known as the Step-by-Step Guide [sometimes referred t...
1. Functions of A&LS Back Office
The main functions are to: Compile and maintain a record of arrestees during an action Arrang...
2. Structure of Back Office
During a mass action A&LS Back Office (A&LS BO) is staffed by volunteers under the supervision of...
3. Recruitment
Recruitment is usually carried out intermittently, and will definitely happen in association with...
4. Training
Training mainly comprises videos and documentation, supplemented by live sessions via Zoom. Writt...
5. Security and Data Protection
Volunteers are handling sensitive personal information and are required to confirm that they unde...
6. ArrestWatch
This is the database used during and after an action to record information about arrestees, legal...
7. Back Office Volunteer (BOV)
The BOV role: involves taking phone calls via 3CX, an online software-based private branch exchan...
8. Police Station Support Coordinator (PSSC)
PSSCs ensure arrested rebels are met on release by Police Station Supporters (PSSs), by creating ...
Summary of Key Links
Software ArrestWatch Arrest report: https://arrestwatch.info Release report: https://arrestw...