SAFEGUARDING YOURSELF

Introduction
Juveniles
Young Adults
Adults
Parents
Summary

Introduction

Generally speaking, you must trust your local law enforcement to do the right thing and most do. We would hope that the few that don’t do the "right thing" will be caught out if you get caught up in the criminal justice system – in other words, we would hope that the check and balances in place such as jury systems would discount the possibilities of you being found guilty of a crime you did not commit and therefore, your charges dropped and you can go on with your life. The reality however, is that there are times when the type of charge(s) levied by police and prosecutors will create a climate of fear and you will be told that you will be jailed for a long, long time unless you accept a "plea deal", therefore, a type of "guilty" verdict. In reality however, this does not work in all cases – at times, how you progress in the maze of the criminal justice system is based on who you are and what you know about the system. Often those in our communities that come from lower socio-economic backgrounds and who generally do not have adequate legal representation or the know-how to navigate the complex justice system do take a plea deal as a result of an arrest. Many simply don’t realize that a plea deal is a life time of lost opportunity even for those that have committed a non-violent crime because it keeps you from jobs, some colleges and most housing opportunities. It even keeps you from going abroad to study, intern or volunteer. It is truly a lifetime of lost opportunity. Therefore, the following information is provided in the hope that people understand their own circumstances in the context of how they should protect themselves, particularly if they don’t have the know how to navigate the criminal justice system and/or have the financial resources to do so.

If you are a juvenile (particularly at High School)

No matter how rebellious you are as a teenager, if you run into difficulties with a school administrator or a teacher which involves them in calling the security police on campus (usually a member of the local police), make sure you report this to a parent. Ask to call your parent or a guardian. This is crucial if you are experiencing conflict. Find better ways of reaching out to administrators and teachers that you do get along with. In other words, make friends and not enemies. Your parents may not be able to bail you out of trouble even if you feel you have not nothing wrong.
Don’t assume that because you are under 18 you can say what you want, be disrespectful to teachers, administrators and security police on campus on the basis that you are under 18 and considered a juvenile. Remember, if your parents cannot afford the big bucks through a court system, these police and administrators have far more power than you may think. Not all, but a few will wait until you are over 18 and arrest you in your local neighborhood for the minutest of infractions! Police and school administrators can be powerful. Remember you are expected to trust the Police but just as we have good people in our communities, we do have some bad people. You cannot take the chance that just because it is the Police they will always be fair – someone might just be having a bad day. So do not assume anything; instead play it safe before you end up with an arrest record. Be respectful at all times (even if you believe that some adults may not be that way with you).
Don’t create a juvenile record just because it feels good, there are police who want to increase their `arrests’ and a few will target you! (It may sound scary but we are trying to be realistic and the reality is that there are more and more young people in our criminal justice system and most come from lower socio-economic backgrounds.)
Do not sign any document or make a statement without a parent being with you, unless it is a matter of life and death. It is better to be safe than sorry. Remember you need to be truthful but don’t take the risk of you making the decision to tell your story without a parent/guardian assisting you.

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If you are a young adult

Do not assume that because you weren’t involved and the police says you are, it means you need to be rude. Always, be respectful and if you aren’t able to convince them that you are indeed not involved in the infraction, you simply let them write their reports. Talk to an attorney or family member. Do not make statements without your family member and/or an attorney. If on the other hand, you did speed or you did commit a crime, admit to it but be brief and if possible wait for an a family member and/or an attorney. It is vital that you don’t assume that just because you are guilty and you say you are guilty that all will be well - the reason is because some police can and will upgrade charges the moment you said you did something no matter how minor. Some will do so, in consultation with the prosecutors. For example, instead of trespassing, it may be upgraded to burglary. Importantly, be skeptical about accepting plea deals particularly if you are innocent. (A plea deal is usually considered a `guilty’ verdict in law enforcement records.) Remember, a non-conviction does not mean a thing when it comes to getting a job, housing or often even a student visa to go abroad for study. Currently an arrest leads to a life time of suffering even if you have committed a non-violent crime.

If you are an adult

Follow similar guidelines as the "young adult" (listed above), however, realize that if you are wrongly being targeted in your area, plan to move! Even if you are moving to a family or friend out of the county/state, it is far better to move than to live in the area where you feel that you are being targeted by some local police.

Remember it is not our intent to scare you, neither is it our intent to say that you should not trust the very system that is set up to protect us, however, in the real world we need to realize that there are problems in our justice system and there are some working in our criminal justice system who will abuse their authority. So if you feel you are being unduly targeted, try to move out of the area. You may save yourself a lifetime of misery

Remember it is not our intent to scare you, neither is it our intent to say that you should not trust the very system that is set up to protect us, however, in the real world we need to realize that there are problems in our justice system and there are some working in our criminal justice system who will abuse their authority. So if you feel you are being unduly targeted, try to move out of the area. You may save yourself a lifetime of misery

Read the section on : Arrest, Probation and Plea Deals.

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Parents

Build contacts and bridges in your local community so you have good anchors that know you and your children well. In other words, get to know your neighbors, your local shop keepers, your local places of worship etc. because the better you know them, the better are your options to deal with them directly if there is ever a problem in the neighborhood which may involve you or your loved ones. If you are surrounded by people who dislike you and your children, they will find a way to cause you grief through police departments who are ever so ready to arrest young people. Read the statistics and understand them. (If you are poor or you don’t understand the criminal justice system, you are likely to suffer greater hardship by being involved in it, no matter how minor that involvement may be!)
Sadly, whether we as a society are integrated racially or a melting pot, we have to understand that we do have some people that live amongst us who have pre-conceived ideas on whether they like you or dislike you because you are wealthy, poor, Black, White, Latino, African American or whatever! These perceptions are sometimes difficult to change. Occasionally, left unchecked you can jeopardize yourself and your family by being in a neighborhood where some may dislike you and you aren’t even sure why. The best thing to do is to build more bridges – the more people you know the better off you are. The alternative is to consider moving. The same exists with schools. Not all teachers, social workers, counselors and administrators are going to necessarily like you or your kids. This may be purely due to your own child’s attitude or your attitude because you have questioned some of the issues you may have had at school. Understand that where there are people, there are perceptions and whilst we all like to be treated fairly, the reality is that not everything is fair. So look out for signs if things aren’t working for your children at school. Be vigilant. If you believe your child is trying but you are dealing with a teacher or an administrator that is unhelpful or simply dislikes your child (or you), consider moving your child to a different school. This is a tall order but this is something you need to look at.

The most important thing that you need to understand is that when you live in a neighborhood, you must truly try to be engaged in the community. The current criminal justice system does have some elements of "divide and conquer" – therefore, if you have children, you need to be extra vigilant that you are not living in neighborhoods where you and/or your children can be targeted or get the rap for something that may be minor in nature or which should not have involved the police. Same with schools, given the involvement of police at our schools (and this is now a fact of life as we do have some serious issues in our schools), you need to be extra vigilant if you know that there is a problem. Deal with it and move your child from that particular school if you have no choice.

Whilst the lure of good jobs and opportunities have taken us to new cities and away from familiar neighborhoods, be mindful that you have to invest in building bridges and contacts in these new communities.

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In summary:

There are more honorable people in law enforcement than not. These people put their lives on the line daily to make America a safer society. However, there are also those that are over-zealous and abuse their power and the power of their public office. They will target particular groups so that they can increase their arrest numbers for the month (or contribute to their budgets/performance) - they know they can’t catch the people among the upper echelons of society, and if they do, usually these people are well equipped with "dream team" lawyers who can drop their charges or find a way to minimize the impact. So those in law enforcement, who are there to exert their power, will go after those that they feel they have a good chance of pinning a crime against. Again, we say this cautiously because many in law enforcement are honorable people and we don’t want to be seen as giving law enforcement a bad name. However, the purpose of this site is to make ordinary people aware of what is really going on in our justice system and to understand that whilst we may have made a lot of progress, we still have some serious issues that do cause much grief to families. We want to therefore, be as realistic as possible on our site.

We realize also that problems from some police do come about because you may have not given them a statement about your neighbor or the kid next door or at school or some such thing. In other words, there can be vindictiveness in some sectors of law enforcement. So don’t underestimate this! Understand that this is your life. Take steps to protect yourself and your family and always remember the law is there to protect you but there are also more poor people in the justice system than the rich! Be cautious. Ask yourself how do children of the wealthy get arrested and then walk free after rehab, sometimes with no probation and not even arrest records?

We realize also that problems from some police come about because you have given them an opportunity either by arguing or because you did not give them a statement about your neighbor or the kid next door or some such thing. In other words, there can be vindictiveness in some sectors of law enforcement. They are human and they are definitely not always perfect. So don’t underestimate this! Therefore, be open. Understand that this is your life. Take steps to protect yourself and always remember the law is there to protect you but there are also more poor people in the justice system than the rich. Ask yourself how do children of the wealthy get arrested and then walk free after rehab, sometimes with no probation and not even arrest records?

Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and responsibility for all your actions.

Having said this, don’t expect a perfect society because when it comes to the criminal justice system, it is not fair. Therefore, play it safe and always consult your family and an attorney before you sign any paper or make any statements to the police.

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