Stop Snitchin'
Encyclopedia
Stop Snitchin' refers to a controversial 2004 campaign
launched in Baltimore
, United States
to persuade criminal informant
s to stop "snitching," or informing
, to law enforcement. Public officials, activists and media outlets say that it is a campaign used by criminals to frighten people with information from reporting their activities to the police
.
"Stop Snitchin" is the name of a specific Baltimore
-based home-made DVD
that threatened violence
against would-be informants, and the name or theme of several hip hop
recordings.
released by Rodney Bethea titled "Stop Snitching!" began to circulate. In some footage, a number of men claiming to be drug dealers address the camera, and threaten violence against anyone who reports what they know about their crimes to the authorities. This threat is directed especially towards those who inform on others to get a lighter sentence for their own crimes. Notably, NBA
star Carmelo Anthony
, a former Baltimore resident and now a part of the New York Knicks
basketball
team, appeared in the video.
In subsequent interviews, Anthony claimed that his appearance in the video was a joke, the product of his neighborhood friends making a home movie. Anthony claims that the film's message should not be taken seriously. The publicity of Stop Snitchin' actually helped to identify several corrupt police officers in the Baltimore area such as former BPD officers William King and Antonio Murray
who were sentenced to 315 and 139 years in prison, respectively,
following an investigation caused by the DVD which identified the officers as drug traffickers.
As the DVD spread across the country, corresponding shirts became popular in urban youth fashion. The shirts typically show a stop sign
emblazoned with the words "Stop Snitchin'." Some shirts bear bullet holes, implying that snitches should (or will) be shot, thus referencing its associated catchphrase "snitches get stitches". The shirts have been more widely circulated than the original DVD.
The Diplomats
, a Harlem, New York-based rap group, made their own version of the Stop Snitchin' shirts, with their logo on the end of the short sleeves. Another such shirt says "I'll never Tell." A new breed of shirts appeared for sale in flea markets and bazaars in south Dallas, Texas in mid 2010. The new shirts extolled the benefits of "keeping yo' mouth shut" in regards to a trial involving one "Fifi/Lisa" and one "Baldy/Red". Further details of the trial, including a list of various charges set forth on the couple, are listed on the back of the shirt.
The video's creator, Rodney Thomas, a.k.a. "Skinny Suge," pleaded guilty to first degree assault on January 17, 2006, in Baltimore and was sentenced to 15 years in prison, with all but three years suspended.
National examples of violence due to "snitching" include Angela Dawson of Baltimore, who was killed along with her five children and husband on October 16, 2002, when their house was firebombed after she alerted police to illegal activities in the area. Another example is Terry Neely of Phoenix, Arizona, a 46-year-old man confined to a motorized wheelchair who was tortured for days and then killed by Angela Simpson in August 2009. A third example is Michael Brewer of Deerfield Beach, Florida, a 15-year-old who, in October 2009, was doused in rubbing alcohol and set on fire after assailants yelled, "He's a snitch, he's a snitch."
department created their own campaign, "Keep Talkin'", which used free DVDs and T-shirts in a method similar to that of the Stop Snitchin' campaign. Its goal was to assure potential state witnesses of their safety from retaliation and stress the importance of imprisoning lawbreakers.
In Pittsburgh
, Rayco Saunders was to be a witness against three men charged with plotting to kill him. But he showed up in court wearing a shirt that said "Stop Snitching" and refused to cooperate with prosecutors. Charges against the men were dismissed.
Fox News began airing responses to Stop Snitchin' called "Step Up and Speak Out".
Left-wing activist rapper Immortal Technique
gave a well-known interview to XXL
in which he contended that Blacks and Latinos should not snitch until police officers begin informing on each other for brutality and agents of the American government take responsibility for their actions.
Rapper Cam'ron
was featured on the April 22, 2007 edition of the television news program 60 Minutes
, and was interviewed by Anderson Cooper
about the "Stop Snitching" campaign. When asked if he would tell the police if a serial killer
was living next to him, he replied "I would probably move," but he wouldn't inform the police. Cam'ron was a victim of a shooting that revealed no leads or clues because he refused to give police information about the suspect, claiming it would hurt his business and violate his "code of ethics." According to NYPD records, Cam'ron has cooperated with police in the past.
The entire Stop Snitchin' campaign has been parodied by an episode
of the television series The Boondocks
.
Multiple rappers have made songs promoting the movement such as Obie Trice
, Ice Cube
("Stop Snitchin'" on Laugh Now, Cry Later
), The Game
and Mac Dre
. Lil Wayne
has a song called "Snitch" from his album, Tha Carter
and The Game has titled one of his mixtape albums/DVD, Stop Snitchin, Stop Lyin
.
announced that he would begin confiscating
Stop Snitchin' shirts from local stores. Though Menino rapidly backed away from mandatory confiscation to endorse voluntary removal of the shirts by store owners, his proposals sparked considerable controversy locally and nationally. Though many saw the initiative as ineffective, counterproductive, or misleading, some community members of high crime areas such as Dorchester
defended the move as important to conquering fear on the streets and assisting in criminal prosecutions.
A spokesperson for the American Civil Liberties Union
rapidly opposed Menino's confiscation plan, claiming that it would violate the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment
guarantee of free speech, in addition to violating rights granted by the Fourth
and Fourteenth
Amendments. The shirts gained attention in Boston in 2004 when the mother of an alleged gang member (and a number of other spectators) wore the shirt during her son's trial for the shooting death of 10-year-old Trina Persad Suffolk Superior Court Judge Margaret R. Hinkle successfully banned the shirts from the courtroom as a witness intimidation tactic.
An Antonio Ansaldi store in Dorchester, Massachusetts
removed Stop Snitchin' shirts from shelves after Marco Antonio Ennis, who owns the store and manufactures the shirts, met with the mayor, community members, and relatives of recent homicide victims. Other stores, including Bargain T and T in Roxbury
have agreed to cease selling the shirts. The controversy, however, seems to have increased the demand for the shirts, though changed the demographic of their wearers towards the suburbs and away from the inner city.
The Stop Snitchin' debate was revived when a Boston judge banned the shirts from all state courthouses, also disallowing cameraphones in the interest of witness protection.
The Stop Snitchin' shirts have inspired parodies including "Stop Menino", "Start Snitchin'", "STOP Stop Snitching", "Yield to Snitching", and "Stop Stop Stop Stop Snitching" shirt.
, is an ongoing student-driven interdisciplinary research initiative aimed at developing a better understanding of the snitching phenomenon and facilitating community discussion through education. The project is sponsored by the Fox Rothschild Center for Law and Society.
Begun as an educational project 2007, the Snitching Project relies on inner city students, who are on the front lines of the Stop Snitching culture, to collect data regarding attitudes towards snitching, as well as dispositional and situational variables that might influence a person's propensity to cooperate with police.
In January 2010, in response to scathing investagatory series on the Philadelphia court system in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Frei testified before U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs about the relationship between the Stop Snitching phenomonon and other forms of witness intimidation. Frei and his students have appeared as panelists on a number of local and national television and radio programs (TruTV), as well as academic conferences. In November 2010, the students organized their own conference on the topic, entitled "The Snitching Phenomenon and Witness Intimidation: Examining Silence About Crime", which was attended by nearly 1000 students and community members in Philadelphia Speakers included noted Pulitzer Prize-nominated mob
author George Anastasia, head of security for the Comcast Center Jim Birch, and Philadelphia Assistant District Attorney Edward McCann.
The Project also sponsors a student-created and edited wiki, which includes copies of past surveys, results from the data collection effort, an extensive history of snitching, and links to relevant web sites and articles on the topic of snitching.
Related:
Advertising campaign
An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication...
launched in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to persuade criminal informant
Informant
An informant is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law enforcement world, where they are officially known as confidential or criminal informants , and can often refer pejoratively to the supply of information...
s to stop "snitching," or informing
Informant
An informant is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law enforcement world, where they are officially known as confidential or criminal informants , and can often refer pejoratively to the supply of information...
, to law enforcement. Public officials, activists and media outlets say that it is a campaign used by criminals to frighten people with information from reporting their activities to the police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
.
"Stop Snitchin" is the name of a specific Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
-based home-made DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
that threatened violence
Violence
Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...
against would-be informants, and the name or theme of several hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
recordings.
National prominence
While the slogan "Stop Snitchin'" had existed since at least 1999, when it was used by Boston-based rapper Tangg da Juice, the Stop Snitchin' campaign first gained national attention in late 2004 in Baltimore, Maryland, when a DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
released by Rodney Bethea titled "Stop Snitching!" began to circulate. In some footage, a number of men claiming to be drug dealers address the camera, and threaten violence against anyone who reports what they know about their crimes to the authorities. This threat is directed especially towards those who inform on others to get a lighter sentence for their own crimes. Notably, NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
star Carmelo Anthony
Carmelo Anthony
Carmelo Kiyan Anthony , nicknamed "Melo", is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the New York Knicks in the National Basketball Association...
, a former Baltimore resident and now a part of the New York Knicks
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
team, appeared in the video.
In subsequent interviews, Anthony claimed that his appearance in the video was a joke, the product of his neighborhood friends making a home movie. Anthony claims that the film's message should not be taken seriously. The publicity of Stop Snitchin' actually helped to identify several corrupt police officers in the Baltimore area such as former BPD officers William King and Antonio Murray
William King and Antonio Murray
William A. King and Antonio L. Murray are two former Baltimore Police Department officers sentenced to a total of 454 years in prison after an FBI investigation in 2005...
who were sentenced to 315 and 139 years in prison, respectively,
following an investigation caused by the DVD which identified the officers as drug traffickers.
As the DVD spread across the country, corresponding shirts became popular in urban youth fashion. The shirts typically show a stop sign
Stop sign
A Stop sign is a traffic sign to notify drivers that they must stop before proceeding.-Specifications:The Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals proposed standard stop sign diameters of 0.6, 0.9 or 1.2 metres. UK and New Zealand stop signs are 750, 900 or 1200 mm, according to sign...
emblazoned with the words "Stop Snitchin'." Some shirts bear bullet holes, implying that snitches should (or will) be shot, thus referencing its associated catchphrase "snitches get stitches". The shirts have been more widely circulated than the original DVD.
The Diplomats
The Diplomats
The Diplomats, also popularly known as Dipset, are a Harlem-based hip hop group founded by Cam'ron and Jim Jones in 1997. The original members of the group were Cam'ron, Freekey Zekey, and Jim Jones ; who all grew up together in Harlem...
, a Harlem, New York-based rap group, made their own version of the Stop Snitchin' shirts, with their logo on the end of the short sleeves. Another such shirt says "I'll never Tell." A new breed of shirts appeared for sale in flea markets and bazaars in south Dallas, Texas in mid 2010. The new shirts extolled the benefits of "keeping yo' mouth shut" in regards to a trial involving one "Fifi/Lisa" and one "Baldy/Red". Further details of the trial, including a list of various charges set forth on the couple, are listed on the back of the shirt.
The video's creator, Rodney Thomas, a.k.a. "Skinny Suge," pleaded guilty to first degree assault on January 17, 2006, in Baltimore and was sentenced to 15 years in prison, with all but three years suspended.
National examples of violence due to "snitching" include Angela Dawson of Baltimore, who was killed along with her five children and husband on October 16, 2002, when their house was firebombed after she alerted police to illegal activities in the area. Another example is Terry Neely of Phoenix, Arizona, a 46-year-old man confined to a motorized wheelchair who was tortured for days and then killed by Angela Simpson in August 2009. A third example is Michael Brewer of Deerfield Beach, Florida, a 15-year-old who, in October 2009, was doused in rubbing alcohol and set on fire after assailants yelled, "He's a snitch, he's a snitch."
Public reaction
In response to the video, the Baltimore PoliceBaltimore Police Department
The Baltimore Police Department provides police services to the city of Baltimore, Maryland and was officially established by the Maryland Legislature on March 16, 1853...
department created their own campaign, "Keep Talkin'", which used free DVDs and T-shirts in a method similar to that of the Stop Snitchin' campaign. Its goal was to assure potential state witnesses of their safety from retaliation and stress the importance of imprisoning lawbreakers.
In Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, Rayco Saunders was to be a witness against three men charged with plotting to kill him. But he showed up in court wearing a shirt that said "Stop Snitching" and refused to cooperate with prosecutors. Charges against the men were dismissed.
Fox News began airing responses to Stop Snitchin' called "Step Up and Speak Out".
Left-wing activist rapper Immortal Technique
Immortal Technique
Felipe Andres Coronel , better known by the stage name Immortal Technique, is an American rapper of Afro-Peruvian descent as well as an urban activist. He was born in Lima, Peru and raised in Harlem, New York. Most of his lyrics focus on controversial issues in global politics...
gave a well-known interview to XXL
XXL (magazine)
XXL is a Hip-Hop magazine, published by Harris Publications.In 1997, XXL was founded by former Source staffers as well as other Harris Publication employees, who wanted to create their own magazine about the hip-hop music and culture using the model developed by the founders of The Source...
in which he contended that Blacks and Latinos should not snitch until police officers begin informing on each other for brutality and agents of the American government take responsibility for their actions.
Rapper Cam'ron
Cam'ron
Cameron Giles , better known by his stage name Cam'ron or "Killa Cam", is a Grammy-nominated American actor. He is the founder of the hip-hop group The Diplomats , and also of The U.N. group....
was featured on the April 22, 2007 edition of the television news program 60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
, and was interviewed by Anderson Cooper
Anderson Cooper
Anderson Hays Cooper is an American journalist, author, and television personality. He is the primary anchor of the CNN news show Anderson Cooper 360°. The program is normally broadcast live from a New York City studio; however, Cooper often broadcasts live on location for breaking news stories...
about the "Stop Snitching" campaign. When asked if he would tell the police if a serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
was living next to him, he replied "I would probably move," but he wouldn't inform the police. Cam'ron was a victim of a shooting that revealed no leads or clues because he refused to give police information about the suspect, claiming it would hurt his business and violate his "code of ethics." According to NYPD records, Cam'ron has cooperated with police in the past.
The entire Stop Snitchin' campaign has been parodied by an episode
Thank You for Not Snitching
"Thank You for Not Snitching" is the third episode of the second season of the Adult Swim animated television series The Boondocks and the eighteenth episode overall. It originally aired on October 22, 2007.-Plot:...
of the television series The Boondocks
The Boondocks (TV series)
The Boondocks is an American animated series created by Aaron McGruder on Cartoon Network's late night programing block, Adult Swim, based on McGruder's comic strip of the same name...
.
Multiple rappers have made songs promoting the movement such as Obie Trice
Obie Trice
Obie Trice III is an American rapper and songwriter. He began rapping at the age of 11, and is most known for his time spent signed to Shady Records. Obie Trice has formed his own record label, Black Market Entertainment.-Biography:...
, Ice Cube
Ice Cube
O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,...
("Stop Snitchin'" on Laugh Now, Cry Later
Laugh Now, Cry Later
Laugh Now, Cry Later is the seventh studio album by rapper Ice Cube, released on June 6, 2006. It is Ice Cube's first album to be released on his independently owned record label Lench Mob Records and his first studio album in six years. After spending the previous six years mainly doing movie...
), The Game
The Game (rapper)
Jayceon Terrell Taylor , better known by his stage name Game, formerly The Game, is an American rapper and actor. As a member of G-Unit, he rose to fame in 2005 with the success of his debut album, The Documentary, which earned him two Grammy Award nominations...
and Mac Dre
Mac Dre
Andre Hicks , better known by his stage name Mac Dre, was an American rapper.-Biography:Andre Hicks was born in Oakland, California but moved to Vallejo while still a child...
. Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. , better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The B.G.'z, with B.G.. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also included...
has a song called "Snitch" from his album, Tha Carter
Tha Carter
Tha Carter is the fourth studio album and major-label debut by American rapper Lil Wayne, released June 29, 2004.- Background :The album was produced by Cash Money's former in-house producer, Mannie Fresh. This was the last album that feature longtime in-house producer Mannie Fresh before he split...
and The Game has titled one of his mixtape albums/DVD, Stop Snitchin, Stop Lyin
Stop Snitchin, Stop Lyin
Stop Snitchin–Stop Lyin is a mixtape album/DVD by rapper The Game. It features artists like Lil' Kim, Ice Cube, Lil Rob, Chingy, WC, Paul Wall and others. The DVD is directed by Éngel Thedford of AREA51 Media Group. This mixtape is the third of three diss mixtapes aimed at the G-Unit members. It is...
.
Boston controversy
Boston mayor Thomas MeninoThomas Menino
Thomas Michael "Tom" Menino is the mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, United States and the city's first Italian-American mayor...
announced that he would begin confiscating
Banned in Boston
"Banned in Boston" was a phrase employed from the late 19th century through the mid-20th century to describe a literary work, motion picture, or play prohibited from distribution or exhibition in Boston, Massachusetts, USA...
Stop Snitchin' shirts from local stores. Though Menino rapidly backed away from mandatory confiscation to endorse voluntary removal of the shirts by store owners, his proposals sparked considerable controversy locally and nationally. Though many saw the initiative as ineffective, counterproductive, or misleading, some community members of high crime areas such as Dorchester
Dorchester, Massachusetts
Dorchester is a dissolved municipality and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is named after the town of Dorchester in the English county of Dorset, from which Puritans emigrated and is today endearingly nicknamed "Dot" by its residents. Dorchester, including a large...
defended the move as important to conquering fear on the streets and assisting in criminal prosecutions.
A spokesperson for the American Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
rapidly opposed Menino's confiscation plan, claiming that it would violate the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
guarantee of free speech, in addition to violating rights granted by the Fourth
Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the Bill of Rights which guards against unreasonable searches and seizures, along with requiring any warrant to be judicially sanctioned and supported by probable cause...
and Fourteenth
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments.Its Citizenship Clause provides a broad definition of citizenship that overruled the Dred Scott v...
Amendments. The shirts gained attention in Boston in 2004 when the mother of an alleged gang member (and a number of other spectators) wore the shirt during her son's trial for the shooting death of 10-year-old Trina Persad Suffolk Superior Court Judge Margaret R. Hinkle successfully banned the shirts from the courtroom as a witness intimidation tactic.
An Antonio Ansaldi store in Dorchester, Massachusetts
Dorchester, Massachusetts
Dorchester is a dissolved municipality and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is named after the town of Dorchester in the English county of Dorset, from which Puritans emigrated and is today endearingly nicknamed "Dot" by its residents. Dorchester, including a large...
removed Stop Snitchin' shirts from shelves after Marco Antonio Ennis, who owns the store and manufactures the shirts, met with the mayor, community members, and relatives of recent homicide victims. Other stores, including Bargain T and T in Roxbury
Roxbury, Massachusetts
Roxbury is a dissolved municipality and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was one of the first towns founded in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630, and became a city in 1846 until annexed to Boston on January 5, 1868...
have agreed to cease selling the shirts. The controversy, however, seems to have increased the demand for the shirts, though changed the demographic of their wearers towards the suburbs and away from the inner city.
The Stop Snitchin' debate was revived when a Boston judge banned the shirts from all state courthouses, also disallowing cameraphones in the interest of witness protection.
The Stop Snitchin' shirts have inspired parodies including "Stop Menino", "Start Snitchin'", "STOP Stop Snitching", "Yield to Snitching", and "Stop Stop Stop Stop Snitching" shirt.
The Snitching Project
The Snitching Project, led by Dr. Rick Frei at the Community College of PhiladelphiaCommunity College of Philadelphia
The Community College of Philadelphia is a community college in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The main campus is located at 1700 Spring Garden Street in a building that was the former Philadelphia Mint...
, is an ongoing student-driven interdisciplinary research initiative aimed at developing a better understanding of the snitching phenomenon and facilitating community discussion through education. The project is sponsored by the Fox Rothschild Center for Law and Society.
Begun as an educational project 2007, the Snitching Project relies on inner city students, who are on the front lines of the Stop Snitching culture, to collect data regarding attitudes towards snitching, as well as dispositional and situational variables that might influence a person's propensity to cooperate with police.
In January 2010, in response to scathing investagatory series on the Philadelphia court system in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Frei testified before U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs about the relationship between the Stop Snitching phenomonon and other forms of witness intimidation. Frei and his students have appeared as panelists on a number of local and national television and radio programs (TruTV), as well as academic conferences. In November 2010, the students organized their own conference on the topic, entitled "The Snitching Phenomenon and Witness Intimidation: Examining Silence About Crime", which was attended by nearly 1000 students and community members in Philadelphia Speakers included noted Pulitzer Prize-nominated mob
Philadelphia crime family
The Philadelphia crime family, also known as the Scarfo crime family, Bruno crime family, Philadelphia Mafia, or Philly Mob, is an Italian American criminal organization based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is one of the most active American Mafia families outside of the Five Families of New York...
author George Anastasia, head of security for the Comcast Center Jim Birch, and Philadelphia Assistant District Attorney Edward McCann.
The Project also sponsors a student-created and edited wiki, which includes copies of past surveys, results from the data collection effort, an extensive history of snitching, and links to relevant web sites and articles on the topic of snitching.
See also
- Conspiracy of silence (expression)Conspiracy of silence (expression)The expression conspiracy of silence, or culture of silence, relates to a condition or matter which is known to exist, but by tacit communal unspoken consensus is not talked about or acknowledged. Commonly such matters are considered culturally shameful...
- Witness intimidationWitness intimidationWitness intimidation involves witnesses crucial to court proceedings being threatened in order to pressure or extort them not to testify. The refusal of key witnesses to testify commonly renders a case with inadequate physical evidence void in a court of law...
- OmertàOmertàOmertà is a popular attitude and code of honour and a common definition is the "code of silence". It is common in areas of southern Italy, such as Sicily, Apulia, Calabria, and Campania, where criminal organizations defined as Mafia such as the Cosa Nostra, 'Ndrangheta, Sacra Corona Unita, and...
Related:
- OmertàOmertàOmertà is a popular attitude and code of honour and a common definition is the "code of silence". It is common in areas of southern Italy, such as Sicily, Apulia, Calabria, and Campania, where criminal organizations defined as Mafia such as the Cosa Nostra, 'Ndrangheta, Sacra Corona Unita, and...
- A concept among members of the MafiaMafiaThe Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
and its associated communities that endorses non-compliance and silence towards criminal investigation. It is comprehensive in its influence and methods in places where the Mafia is at work. - Blue Code of Silence - Refers to police officers' internal prohibition on giving information about wrongdoing by other officers, especially in brutality cases.
External links
- Stop Snitching DVD One of the main websites responsible for selling the Stop Snitching DVDs.
- Stop Snitchin.com One of the websites of 'Let Us Live Entertainment,' a Boston based recording label whose artists promote noncooperation with the police.
- Grits for Breakfast is weblog whose author, Scott Henson, has written extensively on the topic of use and abuse of informants by law enforcement as well as the "stop snitching" movement.
- Fields/Wolfe Crime Stopper Memorial Fund A mother's website created after her son was murdered for being a witness in a murder trail in which the accused were seen wearing Stop Snitchin' t-shirts. The mothers were resilient in their search for the current defendants and have been involved in creating legislation to protect witnesses of violent crimes in Colorado.
- ""Snitch: Informants, Cooperators and the Corruption of Justice"" by Ethan Brown, Public Affairs Books, 2007.