'Stop Snitching' in the UK
Since we have a guest from the UK, this story seemed particularly timely. A 'stop snitching' pamphlet was distributed in a largely black London housing project after a murder. The event has triggered a debate very similar to the debate in the U.S. over police-community relations. From the BBC story: Peckham murder 'snitch' leaflet: what has changed?:
"No one likes a rat," [the pamphlets] stated. "Remember the police are not your friend. Don't be deceived by promises of anonymity, protection and rewards. They will say and do anything to make you snitch, then destroy your life." It concluded: "Be smart. Don't snitch." The flyers were linked to a website, entitled 'Stop Snitching'. It is unclear whether the site is linked to a campaign of the same name launched in 2004, in the troubled US city of Baltimore. ...
Claudia Webbe, chairwoman of the public panel set up to scrutinise [the police's] work, said: "People on the estate were very angry and defiant after the leaflets - but for some it added to the fear. It tapped into suspicions some have long believed." One Southwark councillor has claimed that the leaflets actually had the effect of increasing the number of calls to police - something the Metropolitan Police is yet to comment on. And Ms Webbe thinks the estate's reaction since the leafleting campaign is symptomatic of how relationships between police and the black community have improved. She said: "In 1998 not a single person would have spoken to police after a murder like this."
