Busted: The Citizen's Guide to Surviving Police Encounters
Flex Your Rights' first instructional film BUSTED has succeeded beyond our rosiest expectations. Since its release in December '03, we've reached the following milestones:
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Generated over 1.2 million online viewings through popular websites such as Youtube, Google Video, and Myspace.
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Distributed 12,000 copies of BUSTED.
- Organized hundreds of public screenings -- sponsored by numerous unique political, legal, religious and civic organizations.
- Developed a strong network of college professors, high school teachers, defense attorneys, and social justice activists that continue to share BUSTED with new audiences.
Street Law: How to Deal With Police and Racial Profiling
Street Law will be the newest edition of the Flex Your Rights educational DVD series. The planned 45-minute instructional drama will provide practical survival strategies for people of color confronted by police, and includes resources on how to respond to police misconduct through appropriate channels.
Click here for more details about Street Law's purpose and expected outcomes.
Public Screenings Support:
We provide motivated activists and community leaders with the tools they need to successfully carry out BUSTED screenings. Our website provides screeners with templates for promotional posters, flyers, and other materials that they can customize for their event.
If you're interested in hosting a public BUSTED screening, contact us at info@flexyourrights.org for more information.
Constituent Response:
An ongoing component of our work involves responding to the numerous daily inquiries we receive from the public. Our materials attract significant interest from citizens with specific concerns, and there are few organizations able to provide prompt and personal responses to these important questions.
These correspondences include everything from basic questions about the law to urgent requests for assistance in cases of police misconduct. We respond to all inquires, often providing referrals to local attorneys and allied organizations.
Through continued interaction with the public, we're better able to recognize common concerns and identify recurring problems that citizens face when attempting to assert their constitutional rights. This information helps to improve our materials, particularly our popular FAQ page.
Monitoring the Courts:
To ensure that our materials are always accurate and up-to-date, FYR closely monitors Supreme Court decisions and other events that impact basic constitutional protections during police encounters. Through listserv announcements and the Flex Your Rights Blog, FYR provides analysis of relevant cases, serving as a respected information source for our supporters as well as the broad network of civil libertarian websites and blogs.