The problem is, these kids don't care if they get busted or roughed up. Their goal is to waste police resources and to cause as much of a disruption as possible.
Couldn't agree more. The justice system expects a minimal level of cooperation from those in custody.
Here's a "indy media" statement on several G8 protestors from the Georgia Summit that haven't given their names since their arrest:
"There are still 6 g-8 arrestees in the Glynn County Detention Center, four of whom are on their 5th day (posted 6/20/04) of a hunger strike. The hunger strikers are: G-0002, G-0110, G-0147, G-0176. They began their hunger strike last Tuesday evening, and will continue their strike until the charges against them are dropped and they are released, or until they are tried." link
All this dorking around cost more time and money. Multiply this by hundreds or thousands and it really degrades LE effectiveness against real threats.