What is a Jail List?

February 6, 2026

I speak often of something I call a “jail list”. I use those words because it gets people’s attention. What if you found yourself in jail and you needed to call someone to come and get you. It’s provocative - why would I be in jail? used to be the frequent response. Problem is that people are ending up in jail for lots of specious reasons these days. The assumption behind it was that you wouldn’t necessarily be given your phone, but recent history has shown instances where it was less clear what happened, sometimes your phone is “lost” in the process of getting you into that cell.

But it doesn’t have to come to that. There are lots of reasons why you might not have the ability to reference your phone for numbers to call. You might lose it. It might get destroyed as in the instance where you fall into a lake (happened to me once) or someone pushes you into a pool. Maybe it gets stolen.

In the case of a friend, a purse was stolen. Keys. Phone. Money. fortunately took a bus into the city, so when someone provided a bus ticket, it came down to who to call. What phone numbers are quick to memory? That’s your jail list.

As it happened, I had been working with my friend, asking frequently what my phone number until they could provide it to me. This turned out to be invaluable: I answered the phone and even though I wasn’t able to do anything directly, I called another friend to go to the bus stop and the day was saved.

So your jail list is the list of people who you could call without having to reference your phone. Pick these people well. Lots of people say their mom, their sister. Your mom in another state might not be able to help much if you need bail or someone to simply pick you up. Some relatives might not be sympathetic to your plight. Your housemate might be broke all the time, but as my example above showed, sometimes jus being able to receive the call and call someone else is enough. One more thing to consider: are the people on your jail list the kinds of people who will answer a phone call from an unknown number? How about in the middle of the night?

Another story that happened to a friend in the last few months: Friend lives in a high-rise apartment in Denver. It’s a weekday night, he decides it’s a good time to go check his mail in the lobby. There are a couple of cops standing outside the door, asking him to let him in. He says no, they get more insistent, he gives them a little attitude. For a person of color, cooperating with law enforcement is not always a good idea for your freedom and safety. While all of this happening, another resident opens the door.

The cops come in and start hassling friend, asking does he live there. They notice that he has alcohol on his breath. He’d been safely drinking in his apartment with his dog. They give him a breathalyzer test, note that his alcohol level is high. He wasn’t driving, he wasn’t causing any disturbance other than not being cooperative to the cops. They take him to what was essentially a drunk tank. Not officially detains, not arrested.

He’s telling anyone who will listen that he doesn’t belong there, but the people working there ignore him. He pleads his case with everyone who will listen. Eventually a sympathetic ear tells him that if someon came to get him, they could let him out. He tries his mom, whose number he has memorized. She tried to help, but being in another state didn’t make that very practical/possible, especially at 4 AM. Sympathetic person eventually lets him have his phone, and he tries to call several people, including me. Left several messages, but as it turned out I had left my phone in a different room than where I sleep because there are suggestions that having hte phone next to the bed leads to picking it in the middle of the night, first thing in the morning, doom scrolling while laying in bed before sleep. These are known to interfere with getting a good night’s sleep. I’m guilty on all counts.

There are a number of things odd about this story, but it does confirm a couple things. You don’t always get access to your phone if you have been taken into custody by law enforcement. Memorized numbers of people who are far away don’t always help.

So who is on your jail list? consider memorizing numbers from a few helpful people, and maybe let them know that might need them at odd hours of the night sometime.

Reply via email