"Snitches Get Stitches"

How a culture of passivity toward crime harms poor communities

Soapbox

“SNITCHES GET STITCHES”

How a culture of passivity toward crime harms poor communities

Tekeita Owens

Introduction

Snitch.

Tell on them all.

Dipping and dodging through the drug dealing and violent crime in the lowest low-income neighborhoods is no way to live. But the residents—even the ones who know, intellectually and morally, the right thing to do—often do not report crimes out of fear for their safety, self-esteem, and belonging.

According to a report released in September 2022 by the Bureau of Justice, in 2021, approximately 54% of violent crimes were not reported to the police. From 2020 to 2021, the rate of violent victimization in urban areas increased to 25 victimizations per 1,000 residents, while rates went unchanged in suburban or rural areas. Those households earning less than $25,000 per year experienced more violent crime than any other income level.

Victims and witnesses in urban low-income neighborhoods may not report a crime for a variety of reasons. Some fear retaliation or getting into trouble themselves, while a general distrust of or disdain for police also prevents many witnesses from engaging with law enforcement. Others fear being labeled or isolated in the neighborhood and lack confidence that the police or community care enough about their well-being in the aftermath of reporting a crime. Below are common reasons why people fail to report crimes and, in parentheses, the deeper motives behind them:

·      Fear of retaliation (safety)

·      The threat of incarceration (safety)

·      Distrust or disdain for law enforcement and the criminal justice system (safety)

·      Fear of not being worthy of respect (self-esteem)

·      Perception that no one cares (self-esteem)

·      Fear of solitude (belonging)

Self-preservation does not tell the whole story of why violent crime is prevalent in some urban neighborhoods, but it is a main reason why it persists. Many residents, because they do not have the means to relocate, essentially surrender to the criminality around them and develop a seemingly passive mindset. Living in fear and feeling the need to acquire allies and avoid threats can be so ubiquitous that the anxiety that adults and children experience can result in normalized hypervigilance, aggression, and more violence. Furthermore, maladaptive coping can be taught and continue on for generations, even after these residents move into better neighborhoods. Many of these people would have trouble explaining why they have social anxiety or an “attitude” even though the evidence is all around them. Often, the degree of their dysfunction is only realized when compared to a functional, pro-social school or work environment.

Crimes in Plain Sight

Much crime, abuse, and intimidation goes unreported, even when the criminals are known and the offenses happen in plain sight. The majority of victims know who harmed them, but some still choose not to report the crime to the police. Many community members are eyewitnesses to crime and refuse to report it. Often, the perpetrators brag to their friends and family about having committed a crime. Some take photos and videos and even post about it on social media. Others still make rap songs about their exploits. Mothers know the crimes that their children have committed, as well as where they can be found, but choose not to divulge this information to the police. If the father is present, he usually knows the people his children run with and is aware of their typical behavior.

Residents and family members often support the perpetrators to the detriment of law enforcement. Disdain of police is prevalent in violent black neighborhoods due to the widespread belief that all black people are, as a group, victims of slavery’s aftermath. Anti-social criminals question the loyalty of the neighborhood and threaten the residents with total isolation or worse if they are betrayed. Children and adults alike may feel as though they depend on these lawbreakers for their survival.

Scared and intimidated victims seek favor and approval from these criminals by speaking like them, dressing like them, and adopting their culture, one which is vastly different from that of the outside world. Perpetrators emphasize the harm and victimization they themselves have suffered or their unfair shake in life in order to gain empathy from the would-be victims and witnesses. Victims come to believe that they won’t be worthy of respect if they report the perpetrators because at present, they identify with them and their social scene. They are afraid they’ll lose their right to identify with the culture of the perpetrator, which in the case of inner-city victims is most often “black culture.”  Often, the police cannot tell the victim from the perpetrator.

Victims of inner-city crime may barely see themselves as a victim, as they have taken on the perspective of the people in control, the anti-social criminal who threatens the whole community. As a result of their resentment of law enforcement, residents often feel that the perpetrators are protecting them from the police, regardless of the perpetrators’ behavior. Essentially, they refuse to seek freedom when given the opportunity.

The Survival Strategy

There is no escape from the human reflex to seek mental and physical safety. Self-preservation or feeling safe is a demand of reality that everyone consciously or subconsciously strives for, particularly in extreme conditions where safe spaces may be in short supply. Self-preservation strategies are a necessity developed over time, transcending the boundaries of race and income levels.

The response of many people living under the daily threat of victimization in low-income, violent neighborhoods is similar to those who have Stockholm syndrome, a condition in which hostages, cult members, abuse victims, or those in intimidating relationships side with their perpetrators instead of their freedom. It is a survival strategy for situations in which there is a constant threat to physical and mental well-being, conditions of helplessness and hopelessness, isolation, and lack of support from the outside world, normalization of trauma or terror, and perceptions that survival depends on total surrender and belonging.

Violent, anti-social neighborhoods breed conditions that are ripe for the infliction of further trauma. Such neighborhoods are often terrorized by repeat offenders and troublemakers. Single mothers, fathers, and children experience helplessness and hopelessness due to financial hardship and the inability to relocate away from the violence. Many children and teens do not have the ability to counteract the significant influences of anti-social behavior in their environment. The same children and teens become parents who pass on normalized maladaptive coping mechanisms from generation to generation. Ultimately, this leads to the perception that survival in one’s family and school depends on total surrender and belonging to the culture in violent neighborhoods. Considering the group identity in some high crime areas, there is a great deal of empathy for criminals and anti-social youth, as people feel that they are all going through similar struggles. But passivity toward crime and adoption of anti-social culture is to the detriment of the long-term health of the individual and the neighborhood.

From Survive to Thrive

Those most vulnerable to having positive feelings towards abusers often lack a clear set of values that define their identity, meaning, and purpose in life. They don’t have a track record of overcoming difficulties or a sense of self-efficacy. They are led to believe that powerful others have always controlled their lives and they have a strong need for approval from an authority figure.

Children need fathers and mothers who protect them and help them grow by modeling pro-social behavior. Responsibility to children must be prioritized over “what everybody does.”  Children learn early on that authority figures are those who are responsible for the well-being of others and who inspire obedience. Teenage parents, single mothers, or incarcerated fathers are ill-equipped to be responsible for providing everything that their children need. Children know what their needs are and eventually discern who takes responsibility for fulfilling those needs.

Often, children whose mothers are in the lowest of low-income brackets receive financial support from their grandparents, their mother’s associates, public assistance, or even themselves. Thus, when a parent does not take radical responsibility, they forego their authority and can do little to inspire obedience. Unfortunately, children are sometimes left without an authority figure in their lives. Worse yet, sometimes the authority figures they do have are criminals. Regardless, people with these adverse experiences usually seek approval from inappropriate sources, such as the very folks who threaten their safety.

To combat passivity, people in high crime neighborhoods must take on a new mindset that is intolerant of any crime or threat to the well-being of others. In high-crime neighborhoods, where the parents are emotionally immature or traumatized themselves, new strategies to teach them must emerge from outside of their immediate circles of influence. Churches, schools, libraries, and law enforcement can teach the core principles and values that will help residents ditch old mental models and develop new habits that tackle depression, add meaning and purpose in life, and give them the tools to reach their potential.

Those who are passive toward crime must acknowledge the demands that they have put aside to subscribe to a value system that serves only a few while the rest are consigned to fear and chaos. People living under the poverty, anxiety, and terror of anti-social neighborhoods must examine their lives and choose to set new priorities about what matters. The new mindset of the majority must establish that, despite adverse history or systemic forces, the most potent influences in their lives are the people that they see and the things that they practice daily. The victimization from anti-social forces in their neighborhood is a far more imminent danger and problem than they might acknowledge. The safe space that most people seek from day to day should be at home and the vicinity around it, but many people, both adults and children, simply go through life feeling unsafe due to the environment they live in. They need to empower themselves to seek actual, long-lasting safety. All people need to feel safe in order to maximize their potential and their ability to study, sleep, and be at peace. They need to integrate principles and values into decision-making, such as protecting children, even if that means some friends or family suffer consequences.

Summary

Accountability means doing the right thing simply because it is the right thing. When residents of a neighborhood police their own and refuse to countenance crime, the passion for meeting and exceeding expectations becomes a point of pride. Residents must keep watch over their neighborhood, consistently report crime, and stomp out victimization.

In other words: snitch. It’s a matter of honor.

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Tekeita Owens holds a doctorate of psychology from Touro University. She grew up impoverished in North Carolina, where she overcame an adverse childhood, widespread organized crime, and anti-social behavior to earn undergraduate degrees in Computer Science and Mathematics from Campbell University. She spent 6 years in the Air Force and Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) supporting Bosnia and developing tools to manage data collection. After completing her tours, she worked with the Army Special Operations Command, Psychological Operations Command, and JSOC developing applications and data management solutions using various technologies and she received PMP, Six Sigma, CMMI, Agile, ITIL, and MOF certifications. She currently works in “big tech” as a consulting delivery executive specializing in coaching high performing teams to deliver solutions to complex problems. Currently, she resides in Quantico, VA, and offers solutions from her personal and professional insight to address the complex social issues plaguing our country. Follow her on Twitter and subscribe to her Substack.