Every community throughout America is affected by some level of crime however low-income communities experience significantly more crime that goes unreported to police then more affluent communities. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ National Crime Victimization Survey, in 2009 only about 49% of violent crimes and about 40% of non-violent crimes were reported to police (BJS, 2010). In low-income communities this lack of crime reporting is due to a strong cultural “code of silence,” that considers reporting a crime or aiding police culturally wrong. Community residents also have a strong fear of being victimized if they report a crime. According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Ben Friedman (2009), in almost every case it is a challenge to get witnesses to cooperate and overcoming witnesses’ fears are the most difficult part of prosecuting a case and reducing crime (Smith, 2008).
In low-income communities the “code of silence,” is deeply ingrained in the socialization process. Children are often taught to never cooperate with the police at a very young age by peers, criminals, and family members (Smith, 2008). From my own personal experience of growing up in the low-income community of Richmond, California I remember being constantly reminded by older peers and my older brothers that it was wrong to “snitch,” or report someone to the authorities and just mind your own business. According to Volkan Tapalli a Georgia State University criminal justice professor, within low-income communities “the ethics are that you’re supposed to mind your own business and not get into the affairs of others (Cook, 2010).” This strong ethical belief is reinforced within the community by fear and intimidation.
Many community members remain loyal to the code of silence because they fear becoming a victim. In the low-income communities of Philadelphia 13 witnesses have been killed over the last decade because of their willingness to testify (Phillips, McCoy, & Purcell, 2009). In one case a 16 year old witness was shot in the head five times while waiting for the bus just days before he was scheduled to testify in an arson case (Phillips et al., 2009). Acts like this send a clear message to community members that breaking the “code of silence,” will result in injury or death. Criminal justice officials in Philadelphia say that frightened witnesses have become a common theme in every case and it is normal for witnesses to recant their statements or not appear in court because of this fear and intimidation making it extremely hard to successfully prosecute a case (Phillips et al., 2009). The prevalence of this witness intimidation is evident in the fact that between 2006 and 2008 over 1,000 people have been arrested in Philadelphia for witness intimidation (Phillips et al., 2009). This is a common trend throughout low-income communities across the United States however, many communities are attempting to reduce this intimidation and protect witnesses.
A growing trend in many communities is the adoption of state run witness protection programs and increase penalties for witness intimidation in the hope of breaking down the “code of silence.” For example, Maryland’s legislature made witness intimidation a felony that carries a possible sentence of 20 years in prison and Washington D.C. has created a witness protection program which now provides varying levels of protection to 400-500 witnesses per year (Smith, 2008). However, programs like these are still in their beginning stages and it is unclear how they will affect the deeply rooted “code of silence,” and sense of fear associated with reporting a witnessed crime. In order to reduce the crime within low-income communities the “code of silence,” needs to be broken and the culture within these communities need to encourage reporting crimes in order to make their neighborhood a better place.
References
Bureau of Justice Statistics (2010). National Crime Victimization Survey: Criminal Victimization 2009. Retrieved October 4, 2010, from http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/cv09.pdf
Cook, R. (2010). ‘Witnesses’ Won’t Admit to Seeing Fatal Shooting. The Atlanta Journal – Constitution. Retrieved October 6, 2010, from ProQuest database (2133644641).
Phillips, N., McCoy, C., & Purcell, D. (2009). Witnesses Fear Reprisals, and Cases Crumble: Intimidation on the Streets is Changing the Way Trials are Run. “People are Frightened to Death,” the D.A. Says. McClatchy – Tribune Business News. Retrieved October 4, 2010, from ProQuest database (1920681941).
Smith, B. (2008). Keeping a ‘Snitch’ from Being Scratched. ABA Journal, 94(12),20. Retrieved October 6, 2010, from ProQuest database (1608809021).
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