Trainings

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We currently run regular Know Your Rights and Legal Observer trainings.

If you would like to get involved in GBC’s work but aren’t sure how you can best use your skills, do read the ‘What we do‘ section to learn about our work.

Attending any of our trainings will help you get a feel for what Green and Black Cross is all about and is the preferred way of getting involved.

If you are interested in helping to deliver trainings, please send us an email at gbctrainings@protonmail.com.

Know Your Rights trainings

Our ‘Know Your Rights’ workshop aims to give you the knowledge to combat repressive police tactics commonly used against protesters.

Police officers often rely on the lack of legal understanding of those participating in protest. This interactive session will give you the tools to take action more confidently.

We cover:

Our Key Messages
The most important thing you can take with you on a protest.
Police Tactics and Private Security
Who are these police liaison teams and what is their role?
Stop and Search
Understand the limits of what the police can search for and learn how to resist information gathering techniques used by officers.
What happens when I’m arrested
Your first arrest is always going to be difficult experience. We take you through the process and your rights in custody, to prepare you for the experience should it arise.
Laws commonly used against protesters
We’ll put you in the shoes of a police officer on the hunt to make some arrests.

There is also space to ask questions, and we can tailor the workshop to your group ahead of a planned action.

Please note that our trainings are only relevant to England & Wales as the law is different elsewhere.

The workshop usually lasts around 2 hours. We run public online trainings fairly regularly, and also run these workshops on request. We ask that your group provide a venue if you request an in-person training, and that you have at least 12-15 people in attendance.

To request a ‘Know Your Rights’ workshop for your group, please contact us.

Legal Observer trainings

Legal Observers are an essential part of the support we provide at protests. Whether they’re handing out key advice on bust cards, or finding witnesses for arrests, legal observers help to ensure that people protesting don’t face the legal system alone.

You can read more about what a legal observer is in this guide.

You’ll often see legal observers at demonstrations wearing bright orange bibs marked “Legal Observer”. Despite having no official status, legal observers have a role recognised by bodies from the Courts to the United Nations.

Our standard Legal Observer training is very comprehensive, covering:

What an LO is
How to observe and make notes
Different types of actions you may encounter
How to observe and support someone being arrested

Our trainings are suitable for people in England and Wales.

Please note – you must have attended a Know Your Rights training before training to become an LO.

Once you have been trained, you will be expected to volunteer regularly (once every few months).

If you’re an experienced activist there will be parts you know already, but the depth we go into should give you more confidence and knowledge of how to deal with the police. Whether you’re in a group or attending as an individual, this extensive training offers you important skills to support activists.

Currently many of our trainings are online via Zoom. Online training happens over two days, each for 3 hours including two 10 minute breaks on each day. In person trainings happen over one day with a lunch break and regular shorter breaks.

If you are interested in helping to deliver trainings, please send us an email at gbctrainings@protonmail.com.