Snitching... or Punishing Lawless Murderers?

I don't understand what people are thinking when they refuse to cooperate with police in murder investigations.

Sure, I understand people are afraid the perp will come back and try to take them out. That fear makes sense, although if the thug has already demonstrated the capacity to murder, how will refusing to talk to the police help a witness feel safer? And let's be real, it is all about feelings. Refusing to talk to the police doesn't make one safer.

And what is it about people who refuse to "snitch" on a thug? I can rationalize a gang member refusing to give up a fellow gang member, but what about Joe or Jane Citizen who witness a brutal murder committed by someone they don't know on a victim they do know - how is talking to the police "snitching" on the perp?

Both fear and the "refusal to snitch" is really hurting Detroit.

She heard the gunshots but she wouldn't look out the window.

She didn't want to see anything, didn't want to know anything.

She refused to give her name for fear the shooters would come back for her.

That was one neighbor's reaction to a shooting early Wednesday in northwest Detroit that killed two, including a woman who was eight months pregnant.

"Whoever it was definitely ain't playing," the neighbor said. "And I don't want to play with them."

It is a problem that Detroit police have said plagues the department: Witnesses to crimes refuse to step forward.

Some succumb to anti-snitching campaigns that deem cooperating with police dishonorable. Others fear retaliation.

[...]

Detroit police said the problem is growing. At a triple shooting last week in which a 35-year-old man and 18-year-old woman were killed, people who acknowledged they saw the attack refused to talk.

One man wearing a "Stop Snitching" T-shirt watched as police investigated the scene.

That type of reaction cannot be tolerated, said Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy.

"I hope people aren't buying into this anti-snitch nonsense. Let me assure the public that we will not close up shop and stop prosecuting criminals," Worthy said. "As a society, we cannot allow a conspiracy of silence to creep into the criminal justice system."

[...]

One veteran Detroit officer, who has dealt with the frustration of encountering reluctant witnesses at crime scenes, said fear plays a large role in residents' refusal to cooperate.

"No one wants to talk around here, and I can't blame a lot of them," he said, asking that he not be identified out of concern about being reprimanded. "This is a violent town."