What we have to do about 'Stop Snitching'

SPORTING a sweat shirt, an old Dallas Cowboys hat and a friendly smile, MT, 35, of Germantown, is far from the image of "Stop Snitching" painted by the media.

But a week after undercover officers shot and killed his friend Timothy Goode, MT is quick to explain why he'd be less than enthusiastic to cooperate with law enforcement.

"That's the problem with police," MT said. "They want to come around here looking for snitches, but when they do something, nobody is Snitching on them."

Since the appearance of menacing T-shirts and

DVDs a few years ago, a great deal of media emphasis has been placed on a "cultural" explanation for inner-city witnesses' reluctance to cooperate with police or to testify in court.

Meanwhile, not only does the "Stop Snitching" crisis continue, but the division between some inner-city residents and law enforcement has intensified.

Forget non-compliance - within the last year, both police and criminals have committed brutal acts of violence at a frightening clip.

The Oct. 31 murder of Police Officer Chuck Cassidy was followed by the Jan. 11 police shooting of Goode, who died of two bullet wounds to the back, suffered while running from police.

Within days of the harrowing assassination of Officer Stephen Liczbinski, Philadelphia officers made headlines for the beating of three young men allegedly returning from a prayer vigil.

Perhaps we have ineffectively addressed the Code of Silence because we focus on the immediate expressions of a deep-seated phenomenon.

Addressing the popularity of the "Don't snitch" culture is like ripping the flowers off a deeply rooted weed. T-shirts and rap music are not the causes of "Stop Snitching." Rather, the communication breakdown is a consequence of a historical social and economic process that has left some community members distrustful of police, and left police unable to adequately protect inner-city Philadelphia.

As long as we continue to focus on T-shirts and rap lyrics, the true causes of "Stop Snitching" will go unaddressed.

For this reason, the United Way along with the Stoneleigh Center, Blueprint for a Safer Philadelphia and WHYY have organized a public forum to discuss the systemic complexities behind the Code of Silence.

Despite the sensitive subject matter, the forum aims to bring community leaders, civic leaders and criminal-justice representatives together to open a dialogue on this crucial subject.

As we gather an eclectic group of Philadelphians, I'm reminded of one of the earliest interviews I conducted on the subject. Back in 2006, I visited William Harvey at his home in North Philadelphia.

MR. HARVEY'S son had recently been sentenced to life in prison following a controversial homicide trial that featured reluctant witnesses and convoluted circumstances.

During the interview, Mr. Harvey and I played distinct roles: He explained how the Code of Silence affected his life, and I dutifully took notes, periodically furrowing my brow, a la CNN's Anderson Cooper.

After the interview, we discussed Philly sports. Noting that a certain Phillies third baseman had recently cost us the pennant, we quickly became jointly passionate about baseball. The player's poor performance disturbed us.

Because of the commonality of the problem, the circumstantial differences that had separated us moments before evaporated.

As a city, we must respond to "Stop Snitching" as a common problem, even if it is most prevalent in distinct neighborhoods. That way, we can unite to address the systemic changes required to make this city safer for all of us.

On Friday, we will take an important step by opening up what has been a muted topic. *

Samuel George is a junior fellow at the Stoneleigh Center and United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania, and author of "The Commonwealth v. Dwayne Brown: The roots and consequences of the code of silence in inner city Philadelphia."