Street Lockdowns Proposed for Balitmore

Street Lockdowns Proposed for Baltimore

excerpt: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070517/ap_on_re_us/lockdown_zones_1

Police would be encouraged to aggressively stop and frisk individuals in those zones to search for weapons and drugs.

Baltimore has tallied 108 homicides already this year, compared to 98 over the same period last year. Police and prosecutors also say they are facing a "stop snitching" culture that discourages victims and witnesses from cooperating with investigators trying to get criminals off the streets.

Councilman Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr., a mayoral hopeful, said Curran's idea was an interesting concept but it raised questions about civil liberties.

"We have to make sure we're not declaring martial law," he said.

Mayor Sheila Dixon had a lukewarm response after meeting with Curran on Wednesday, but she said she might support the idea with some changes.

108 homicides in 137 days.

"Stop snitching" is the inner city answer to suburbian opposition to the "death tax" and the progressive tax structure. These predators have convinced these people that they are somehow examples to follow, and that the people should ignore their own best interests and instead emulate those who care for nothing but themselves and prey on all others.

And the people baaaah like the sheep they are.

I agree, on face value, its rather dumb not to tell the cops about murders in your neighborhood. But, poor black, typically undereducated urban dwellers have several things working against them.

First, the police are often a more oppressive force than the very criminals they are charge to protect citizens from. Every Black neighborhood has dozens of stories of trigger happy (often white male) cops coming through ghettos like stormtroopers, harassing and beating anything brown, male and young. And they're often on the very payroll of the criminals. How many drug dealers roam free b/c they gave the 5-0 their cut? And lets not forget that many police departments have cut back on community policing. So unless there's a major shooting, the cops aren't going to be around. To blame locals for a code of silence with out looking to who they have to rely on belies a disconnect from the nature of inner city life.

Second, the criminals would terrorize anyone who is willing to speak up. American ghettos work on a whole different code of ethics and laws than most of white middle America. Yes, hollywood has commodified this suffering to entertain stupid teenage boys in the 'burbs. But that doesn't negate the reality that the local drug dealer or gang leader holds more clout and more power than City Hall in the eyes of many kids in the 'hood. Growing up in the ghetto, I can attest better than most. Snitch on the local dealers slinging rocks near a playground? Expect grandma to meet with a nasty mugging, or worse. Find a dead body behind a building. If you work up the courage to tell the cops, you had better pray to God nobody finds out it was you. Inner city communities like Baltimore operate no differently than the mob controlled immigrant communities of the 20's - 50's or an episode of the Sopranos. Speaking of TV, where do you think the idea for the Wire came from? Baltimore lives and dies by the code of the streets.


Yes, people shouldn't, in an ideal world, hold to an outmoded and dangerous principle of "no snitching". It endangers the lives of the community and keeps criminals in power. But, considering that they have to fear the cops and the crooks if they choose to fight back, I can't blame them.

- Cappa

there was Homicide: Life On The Street...

It was more of a docudrama then a cop show!

I've lived in the DC/Baltimore area for over 20 years, these guys don't play. If you get involved, you'll pay.