Across the Curriculum with Detective Fiction for Young People and Adults

Snitching as a Social Phenomenon

All members of society may not fully understand the snitching phenomenon. As early as the civil rights movement and during the Jim Crow era, there has been a mistrust of law enforcement in urban communities. Unfortunately, blacks had no recourse. The system was all white with police, prosecution, judge, juries and prison officials deciding the fate of minorities. Violence was instrumental for Jim Crow. It was a method for social control. (Pilgrim, 2000) Even during reconstruction, there has been a mistrust of law enforcement in urban communities. This is due in part to the historical relationship between police in America with primarily minority communities (especially African-Americans). Snitching has evolved from the "rat" era, such as it was in organized crime syndicates, to blatant refusal to assist the police in spite of violence wreaking havoc in one's own neighborhood. Initially, the unwillingness to assist law enforcement was part of the urban gang mentality of omerta, which is essentially a subcultural code of silence. The word omerta was derived from Italy and is associated with the Mafia. Basically, the whole idea of omerta is that "there is a categorical prohibition of cooperation with state authorities or reliance on its services, even when one has been a victim of a crime."⁷ This would include taking the "rap" for someone even if you did not do the crime. Today, the omerta mentality has mushroomed throughout urban and many suburban neighborhoods in America. No longer is it gang members who perpetuate the snitching code; now it is "Big Mama" who lives on the corner and says "don't open your mouth" to the police, because if you do, she too will ostracize you. The snitching phenomenon is a cultural stigma. Some would go so far to say that in some urban communities, snitching in itself is a crime. This phenomenon is profound and widespread. I feel that the snitching phenomenon has gone unnoticed for so long that to try and stop it now would be a great task. It is not an impossible task, but is nonetheless a tremendous undertaking. This outlook has infiltrated the lyrics of rap artists who disseminate the message that it is not cool to snitch. Recently, a popular DVD was produced by Skinny Surge entitled Stop F— Snitching Vol. 1 to entice the African-American community to refuse to assist the police and to intentionally hamper any criminal investigation. This was endorsed by Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets, who appeared on the DVD. Also, T-shirts have been worn into courtrooms with "stop snitching" printed on them. Because of this practice, many courts do not allow clothing with "messages" written on an individual's person to enter the courtroom. Further, cell phones are no longer allowed in the courtroom because photos can be taken of the witnesses and jurors for intimidation purposes. Schools and even colleges have been inundated with the "stop snitching" phenomenon. With a culture such as this, it is no longer a surprise that students in my class or any other class in America would think it is okay to withhold information from authorities. America's children have bought into this societal stigma.

Another aspect of the snitching phenomenon is police corruption through witness intimidation. The us vs. them mentality is a deep rooted mistrust between the urban community and the police. Often times, in order to solve a crime, police will solicit lawbreakers as informants. This practice places not only the informant in danger, but their family, friends and acquaintances, because they are tagged as a snitch. Further, police officers are not always forthright in their dealings with informants. Many urban communities see this "deal making" as a way to simply house more minorities in prison, especially if the targeted law breaker has become a prominent individual in the community by owning a business or becoming socially elevated above what is considered the "status quo" in the neighborhood. Such a case is depicted in the crime fiction novel Snitchcraft (Id. P. 5), which is a required reading for this curriculum unit. Ultimately, one could say that individuals in urban communities are often times suspicious of law enforcement officers and automatically choose not to interact or help them in any manner. Certainly, such a practice is a disservice to the residents who live in a community where violence is running rampant. Essentially, the end results of such perceptions are a culture that resists an entity seen as a predator.