Solidarity

Category: Organising

  • What to do if the police show up at your meeting

    What to do if the police show up at your meeting

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    If the police are raiding your meeting There have been several incidents where the police have raided venues to pre-emptively arrest people planning protests or simply holding social events to explain their campaigning activities. Invariably this is targeted towards particular individuals but raids can also sweep up everyone. A police raid is sudden, frightening and…

  • Dealing with police surveillance at public gatherings

    Dealing with police surveillance at public gatherings

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    Finding a venue Finding an appropriate and affordable venue is often the most difficult part of organising any public event. Unfortunately, this can be even harder if the meeting or conference is related to protest or activism. Venue managers may become nervous of their venue becoming the focus of conflict, or that they may attract…

  • More secure alternative to Google Docs: CryptPad

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    Do you need to share meeting minutes, strategies and plans somewhere that your group can edit them easily together – but you’re worried about sharing sensitive information online? Many protest groups are using Google Docs to collaborate, but this can make it easy for police to access sensitive information. So what can you do instead?…

  • Dealing with tabloid journalists

    Dealing with tabloid journalists

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    The hallmark of sensationalist tabloid reporting is generating fear and outrage, invariably in defence of deeply partisan, reactionary politics. Campaigners who use direct action and civil disobedience tactics are often seen as a target for this kind of “journalism”. In particular, reporters have turned up at meetings or attended online discussions looking for gossip and…

  • Use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) for online privacy

    Use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) for online privacy

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    When and why should you use a VPN When you don’t use a VPN your Internet Service Provider (ISP the company or institution providing your connection) can see the links you are accessing, though they can’t see anything you input into those sites if its a https link. A lot of information and data is…

  • How and why to use an anonymous Signal account

    How and why to use an anonymous Signal account

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    What is Signal? Signal is a secure messaging application, which allows you to send encrypted messages to your contacts. We recommend anyone sending instant messages or setting up chat groups for political organising uses a secure platform like Signal, in order to protect their privacy. Signal’s end-to-end encryption protects the contents of messages from being…

  • Planning protests involving direct action or civil disobedience

    Planning protests involving direct action or civil disobedience

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    Use the process of managing low/medium/high risks as the basis for planning your action if there is a prospect of arrests, media attention or police surveillance. As members of your campaign or group, consider together: Divide up responsibilities Every decision need not involve everyone – so divide up your planning and organising into separate teams:…

  • Managing risks to your campaign group

    Managing risks to your campaign group

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    Like “never cross a picket line”, the principle that we “look out for each other” should become ingrained in the ways we organise. But too often the way campaigners talk about security is all or nothing. Make a plan Rather than muddling though and hoping everything will work out – make a plan that everyone…