Join Us
Welcome To Cop Block’s Involvement Page!
The idea behind Cop Block is to highlight the double standard that police hold. We hope to accomplish this by documenting police actions, whether they be illegal or just a waste of time and resources, then having supporters call into the police stations highlighted (hopefully recording their conversations). On top of the direct pressure we hope to put on police departments, we want to be an educational resource for those who have problems with the police, a place where different techniques, viewpoints, and courses of action can be showcased.
Below are a variety of ways that you can contribute to Cop Block’s growth.
Share Cop Block’s Website and Social Networks
Tell your friends about Cop Block. This is a quick and easy way to show your support and would probably take you less than five minutes to do.
Take Photos of Police and Share Them
Taking photos of cops, even if they aren’t doing anything illegal or wrong (though it certainly doesn’t hurt if they are) and then uploading it to this album on Facebook is another way to contribute. Doing so will change the statist (not a typo) quo and encourage others to monitor police action. This can be as simple as snapping a photo while walking or driving into work, dinner, etc. or if the police show up on your block. Depending on your camera (or phone), this could take less then a minute.
If the police in the picture are breaking the law or if you have a few extra minutes, politely ask the officer(s) their name and badge number and document it along with the time, date, and location. These pictures are featured on Friday’s Finest and/or Call Flood posts.
If you don’t have Facebook or don’t want to post them there, feel free to email photos to us at CopBlock[at]gmail[dot]com
Shoot a Cop Block Video
Shooting, editing and uploading a video can take a couple of hours or even a few days depending on your knowledge of the process, however, we don’t have requirements for videos so you don’t have to edit or add text to the video. We are much more interested in showing people being active and the educational gains from sharing videos.
There are several subjects that videos submitted to Cop Block can address including traffic stops, phone calls, police brutality, police breaking traffic and parking laws, and even just police encounters in general. We’d be happy to work with anyone who has video but not the ability to edit it as we’d never want good footage to go to waste.
Contribute Writing/Become a Guest Blogger
If you currently write about police wrongdoings or have an interest in doing so, contact us. Let us know what topics you want to focus on, how frequently you can contribute, and any other related info. Even if you have no interest in contributing on a regular basis, you can still contribute a single entry about a topic that interests you, a pic or video you shot, etc. These can be sent to us via email.
Participate in Call Floods (Calling Police Stations)
The time required to partake in a Call Flood depends on how far you want to push the issue. Some might want to call in and tell the police they disapprove of their actions without giving up personal information. Others might want to file Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and/or complaints, a process that sometimes can take months.
Whichever method you choose, we hope you document it and remember that you’re always welcome to say you’re a blogger (freelanced writer) for Cop Block. We have a phone number (206.279.1258) and email (copblock[at]gmail[dot]com) available for your use if you want to keep your information private.
To locate current and past Call Floods look under the categories Call Flood and Updates.
Provide Feedback and Ideas
This is another quick and easy form of support people can provide. Leaving comments on our blog, Facebook page, Tweets, and other outlets is very helpful. Whether the comments are praise, constructive criticism, opposing views, they’re all appreciated.
Also contributing ideas for future growth, projects and/or website design are helpful too. It would be even better if the folks who come up with such ideas are willing to help implement them, though we’ll always settle for just sharing your thoughts.
Remember to let us know if you have suggestions. This site will be what we, as a community, make of it and I know we can make it something great. If you wish to post your content on your own (or another) site, no worries. Let us know of an upcoming post and we’ll re-post it (with a proper link, of course) or find some other way of promoting it.
