In the United States, Stop Snitchin or Snitches Get Stitches is a call for informants not to cooperate with law enforcement.
Origin
T-shirts bearing the phrase "Stop Snitching" first appeared on the streets of Philadelphia in 2002.
National prominence
The Stop Snitchin' campaign first gained national attention in late 2004 in Baltimore, Maryland, when a DVD released by Rodney Thomas titled "Stop Snitching!" began to circulate. However, the slogan "Stop Snitchin'" and many other variations have existed in the United States long before the campaign became popular.
In some footage, a number of men claiming to be drug dealers address the camera, and threaten violence against anyone who reports what they know about their crimes to the authorities. This threat is directed especially towards those who inform on others to get a lighter sentence for their own crimes. NBA star Carmelo Anthony briefly appeared in the video. In subsequent interviews, Anthony claimed that his appearance in the video was a joke, the product of his neighborhood friends making a home movie. Anthony claims that the film's message should not be taken seriously.
As the DVD spread across the country, corresponding shirts became popular in urban youth fashion. The shirts typically show a stop sign emblazoned with the words "Stop Snitchin'". Some shirts bear bullet holes, implying that snitches should (or will) be shot and sent to the hospital, thus referencing its associated catchphrase "snitches get stitches". The shirts have been more widely circulated than the original DVD.
The Diplomats, a Harlem-based rap group, made their own version of the Stop Snitchin' shirts, with their logo on the end of the short sleeves. Another such shirt says "I'll never Tell". A new breed of shirts appeared for sale in flea markets and bazaars in south Dallas, Texas, in mid-2010. The new shirts extolled the benefits of "keeping yo' mouth shut" in regards to a trial involving one "Fifi/Lisa" and one "Baldy/Red". Further details of the trial, including a list of various charges set forth on the couple, are listed on the back of the shirt.
The video's creator, Rodney Thomas, a.k.a. "Skinny Suge", pleaded guilty to first-degree assault on January 17, 2006, in Baltimore and was sentenced to 15 years in prison, with all but three years suspended.
National examples of violence due to "snitching" include Angela Dawson of Baltimore, who was killed along with her five children and husband on October 16, 2002, when their house was firebombed after she alerted police to illegal activities in her neighborhood. Another example is Michael Brewer of Deerfield Beach, Florida, a 15-year-old who, in October 2009, was doused in rubbing alcohol and set on fire after assailants yelled, "He's a snitch, he's a snitch."
Public reaction
In response to the video, the Baltimore Police Department created their own campaign, "Keep Talkin'", which used free DVDs and T-shirts in a method similar to that of the Stop Snitchin' campaign. Its goal was to assure potential state witnesses of their safety from retaliation and stress the importance of imprisoning lawbreakers.
In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Rayco Saunders was to be a witness against three men charged with plotting to kill him. But he showed up in court wearing a shirt that said "Stop Snitching" and refused to cooperate with prosecutors. Charges against the men were dismissed.
Left-wing activist rapper Immortal Technique gave a well-known interview to XXL in which he contended that Blacks and Latinos should not snitch until police officers begin informing on each other for brutality and agents of the American government take responsibility for their actions.
Rapper Cam'ron was featured on the April 22, 2007, edition of the television news program 60 Minutes, and was interviewed by Anderson Cooper about the "Stop Snitching" campaign. When asked if he would tell the police if a serial killer was living next to him, he replied: "I would probably move," but he would not inform the police. Cam'ron was a victim of a shooting that revealed no leads or clues because he refused to give police information about the suspect, claiming it would hurt his business and violate his "code of ethics". According to NYPD records, Cam'ron has cooperated with police in the past.
The entire Stop Snitchin' campaign has been parodied by an episode of the television series The Boondocks.