Originally published 2.1.09
Written by Jesse Muhammad
Some people call turning in a criminal a way to clean up their community….but some people call it Snitchin’.
It has become an underground street code referred to as the Stop Snitchin’ campaign.
Stop Snitchin’ is considered a controversial method to convince criminal informants to stop “snitching,” or informing, to the police. It is also said to be a campaign used by criminals to frighten people with information from reporting or testifying in court.
Stop Snitchin’ was popularized by the release of a 2004 Baltimore-based home-made DVD that threatened would-be informants. Soon a string of underground dvds by hip hop stars started circulating to further promote the campaign throughout the country.
According to The Source Magazine, Rev. Al Sharpton will be spearheading a national “Anti-Stop Snitching†campaign alongside two pastors and the families of two murdered teens from Miami.
What prompted Sharpton to launch this initiative was the shooting deaths of 16-year-old Brandon T. Mills and 18-year-old Derrick Gloster on January 23 after a man with an AK-47 fired into a crowd of nearly 50 people watching a dice game in Miami’s Liberty City neighborhood. He also wounded seven others.
Although there are numerous witnesses, nobody is willing to talk to authorities to solve the crime.
According to The Source, Sharpton’s campaign hopes to open dialogues between communities and law enforcement to help close unsolved crimes while also removing the criminals from the streets which leave people in fear of the repercussions of snitching.
What are your thoughts about the Stop Snitching Campaign?