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Snitching: Criminal Informants and the Erosion of American Justice
Albert Burrell spent thirteen years on death row for a murder he did not commit. Atlanta police killed 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston during a misguided raid on her home. After being released by Chicago prosecutors, Darryl Moore--drug dealer, hit man, and rapist--returned home to rape an eleven-year-old girl.
Such tragedies are consequences of snitching--police and prosecutors offering lenience to criminal offenders in exchange for information. Although it is nearly invisible to the public, criminal snitching pervades the American legal system in risky and sometimes shocking ways. Snitching is the first comprehensive analysis of this powerful and problematic practice—a potent law enforcement tool that generates unreliable evidence, endangers the innocent, allows criminals to escape punishment, compromises the integrity of police work, and exacerbates tension between police and poor urban residents. The book exposes the social destruction that snitching can cause in high-crime African American neighborhoods, and how using criminal informants renders our entire penal process more secretive and less fair. Driven by dozens of real-life stories and debacles, Natapoff explores the legal, political, and cultural significance of snitching: from the war on drugs to hip hop music, from the FBI’s mishandling of its murderous mafia informants to the new surge in white collar and terrorism informing. She explains how existing law functions and proposes new reforms. By delving into the secretive world of criminal snitching, Natapoff reveals deep and often disturbing truths about the way American justice really works.
- GenresNonfictionLaw
267 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 19, 2020
What aspects of snitching create the most problems for ordinary Americans? That is a hard question to answer, and it seems as if there is a body of literature that is designed to discuss the nefarious effects of snitching on popular culture to the point where it has helped to decrease the trust that exists between people and government as a whole, and not only in minority communities. To the extent that government depends on shady and untrustworthy people to give them information and where the possibility that people are to be framed and manipulated for the interests of corrupt authorities and corrupt underworld figures, then it is clear that the justice system is not going to have legitimacy with the general public at all, or at least decreasing legitimacy as these practices continue and exacerbate. It appears that until recently, though, few people were focused on bringing the dependence of the government on snitches and other unpleasant truths were brought to life and this book certainly does a good job in focusing on snitching as it relates to the culture of trusties and corrupt dealing that threatens some aspects of the prison system of the United States to become akin to the horrors of the Gulag Archipelago.
This book is a bit more than 200 pages long and it is divided into eight chapters. After acknowledgements and an introduction which shows the focus of this book on street justice as it relates to snitching, the author discusses understanding snitching through looking at informant deals and the implications of such practices (1). After this there is a look at the legal rules of snitching (2). This leads the author to comment on the unreliability of snitches (3), the secret justice that results from the lack of transparency involved in snitching (4), and the tension that results from urban communities and the police as a result of its use in the community (5). The author then takes a detour into the cultural importance of the "stop snitching" movement and what it meant (6) as well as a discussion about cooperation and informants as they relate to white collar crime (7), including a discussion about the snitch visa that one can gain by snitching on terrorism. Finally, the book ends with a chapter that discusses various ways that the criminal justice system can be reformed insofar as it depends on snitching (8) and then a conclusion about the problem of democracy as it relates to criminal justice, after which there are notes, an index, and information about the author.
This book does a good job at pointing out the context in which snitching has thrived in the contemporary legal system. By separating out snitching from all sorts of informant use, the author discusses the social costs of the practice as well as some reform practices that would make it less problematic, and potentially also less ubiquitous, which could only be a good thing. The use of snitches as a foundation of criminal law suggests a lack of interest in justice and a greater dependence on spycraft and surveillance, which suggests a declining trust and understanding between governors and governed. This can only have poisonous and toxic results in a nation where the legitimacy of government and its behavior depends on the consent of the governed. Without that consent, and without trust between rulers and ruled, America as as constitutional republic cannot be preserved. It is with these serious concerns that this book reflects on the divisions that exist within the United States thanks at least in part because of the toxic combination of interest between authorities looking to increase their power, especially in certain neighborhoods, and the interests of corrupt people willing to give them information for a price.
This book is a bit more than 200 pages long and it is divided into eight chapters. After acknowledgements and an introduction which shows the focus of this book on street justice as it relates to snitching, the author discusses understanding snitching through looking at informant deals and the implications of such practices (1). After this there is a look at the legal rules of snitching (2). This leads the author to comment on the unreliability of snitches (3), the secret justice that results from the lack of transparency involved in snitching (4), and the tension that results from urban communities and the police as a result of its use in the community (5). The author then takes a detour into the cultural importance of the "stop snitching" movement and what it meant (6) as well as a discussion about cooperation and informants as they relate to white collar crime (7), including a discussion about the snitch visa that one can gain by snitching on terrorism. Finally, the book ends with a chapter that discusses various ways that the criminal justice system can be reformed insofar as it depends on snitching (8) and then a conclusion about the problem of democracy as it relates to criminal justice, after which there are notes, an index, and information about the author.
This book does a good job at pointing out the context in which snitching has thrived in the contemporary legal system. By separating out snitching from all sorts of informant use, the author discusses the social costs of the practice as well as some reform practices that would make it less problematic, and potentially also less ubiquitous, which could only be a good thing. The use of snitches as a foundation of criminal law suggests a lack of interest in justice and a greater dependence on spycraft and surveillance, which suggests a declining trust and understanding between governors and governed. This can only have poisonous and toxic results in a nation where the legitimacy of government and its behavior depends on the consent of the governed. Without that consent, and without trust between rulers and ruled, America as as constitutional republic cannot be preserved. It is with these serious concerns that this book reflects on the divisions that exist within the United States thanks at least in part because of the toxic combination of interest between authorities looking to increase their power, especially in certain neighborhoods, and the interests of corrupt people willing to give them information for a price.
June 13, 2020
This was an interesting look at the use of informants in the criminal justice system. She ties the use of informants to larger themes in criminal justice reform that I hadn’t considered before. The books is very accessible to anyone who wants to learn about the issue.
July 11, 2022
Very informative. Very repetitive.
June 5, 2023
atlantic city research was informative without grandstanding.
November 29, 2009
Incidents such as that of activist Brandon Darby informing on fellow activists, and the Tulia, Texas drug arrests scandal are but two examples of a trend that law enforcement has increasingly relied on as a method for policing, but which is increasingly returning disastrous results. The use of individuals to provide information leading to arrests, in exchange for lesser charges, but whose offered details are often fraught with inconsistencies, is the subject of Alexandra Natapoff's searing read Snitching: Criminal Informants and the Erosion of American Justice.
Use of snitches has been going on far longer than the Darby affair. African-American communities have seen law enforcement use informants to combat drugs and urban blight at the cost of community cohesion. In these neighborhoods, Natapoff says, police methods are more intrusive and the penal process treats young Black men harshly. Such tragedies make informants plentiful. The result of snitch culture in the Black community is essentially that police permit informants to engage in criminal activity, foment distrust in neighborhoods and encourage retaliation. In the end, informants do little more than destabilize Black communities and undercut police legitimacy as well as individuals' belief in fairness.
However, it is the stories of desperation that dot Natapoff's writing which are incredibly striking. Fundamentally, the author reminds us, informants are people trying to escape long jail sentences by providing assistance to police. Such a relationship lends itself to producing information as a matter of self-preservation, and that their continued performance will keep them out of jail and presumably able to break the law so long as they are of use to law enforcement. Therein lies the criminal justice conundrum, of what reliance on snitches says about the justice system itself.
The hip-hop culture is the best-known proponent of the 'stop snitching" phenomenon. The character of 'stop snitching," the author suggests, is a symbol of the Black community's distrust of police in the wake of the War on Drugs and the long sentences young Black men receive for what is often faulty testimony. Exploration of that relationship is offered here, and is probably one of the best presentations of why the music culture has been so associated with resistance to snitching.
The author acknowledges social movements have long known the problems caused by informants. In Snitching, Natapoff points out informants end up acting with impunity, and their use raises important constitutional questions related to interference with organized groups' First Amendment rights. Political organizers should carefully note the behavior sanctioned for informants, as the actions now famous in the Darby case -- most importantly accusations the two activists arrested were coaxed into illegal activity -- have long been permitted of informants.
To be clear, the author is not opposed to the use of police utilizing plea bargaining of the nature described in the book. However, Natapoff argues law enforcement's rampant use of informants has implications that threaten transparency and in some ways democracy.
Use of snitches has been going on far longer than the Darby affair. African-American communities have seen law enforcement use informants to combat drugs and urban blight at the cost of community cohesion. In these neighborhoods, Natapoff says, police methods are more intrusive and the penal process treats young Black men harshly. Such tragedies make informants plentiful. The result of snitch culture in the Black community is essentially that police permit informants to engage in criminal activity, foment distrust in neighborhoods and encourage retaliation. In the end, informants do little more than destabilize Black communities and undercut police legitimacy as well as individuals' belief in fairness.
However, it is the stories of desperation that dot Natapoff's writing which are incredibly striking. Fundamentally, the author reminds us, informants are people trying to escape long jail sentences by providing assistance to police. Such a relationship lends itself to producing information as a matter of self-preservation, and that their continued performance will keep them out of jail and presumably able to break the law so long as they are of use to law enforcement. Therein lies the criminal justice conundrum, of what reliance on snitches says about the justice system itself.
The hip-hop culture is the best-known proponent of the 'stop snitching" phenomenon. The character of 'stop snitching," the author suggests, is a symbol of the Black community's distrust of police in the wake of the War on Drugs and the long sentences young Black men receive for what is often faulty testimony. Exploration of that relationship is offered here, and is probably one of the best presentations of why the music culture has been so associated with resistance to snitching.
The author acknowledges social movements have long known the problems caused by informants. In Snitching, Natapoff points out informants end up acting with impunity, and their use raises important constitutional questions related to interference with organized groups' First Amendment rights. Political organizers should carefully note the behavior sanctioned for informants, as the actions now famous in the Darby case -- most importantly accusations the two activists arrested were coaxed into illegal activity -- have long been permitted of informants.
To be clear, the author is not opposed to the use of police utilizing plea bargaining of the nature described in the book. However, Natapoff argues law enforcement's rampant use of informants has implications that threaten transparency and in some ways democracy.
August 17, 2014
Informants are an important part of criminal investigations and prosecutions. In exchange for leniency or other benefits, one criminal can provide information that helps to convict others. But the use of informants bears risks for the integrity of the system and the safety of the community. Alexandra Natapoff, a professor at Loyola L.A., explores the practice and recommends reforms in Snitching: Criminal Informants and the Erosion of American Justice.
(In Snitching, Natapoff discusses only criminal informants. "Snitching" does not apply to the testimony of victims, bystanders, or other witnesses.)
Some of the problems discussed are familiar: snitches are unreliable; many wrongful convictions were based on testimony from informants; not all defendants have the same access to the benefits available to some informants. Natapoff also looks beyond criminal justice to look at the effect on poor, urban communities where a significant number of people are informing or being pressured to inform. Criminal justice may be the residents' dominant experience of government, and they see crimes that go unpunished (because the perpetrators cut deals); moreover, violence escalates.
I enjoyed the whole book, but if you have limited time, just read the recommendations in Chapter 8.
For more, see Natapoff's blog, Snitching, http://www.snitching.org/.
(In Snitching, Natapoff discusses only criminal informants. "Snitching" does not apply to the testimony of victims, bystanders, or other witnesses.)
Some of the problems discussed are familiar: snitches are unreliable; many wrongful convictions were based on testimony from informants; not all defendants have the same access to the benefits available to some informants. Natapoff also looks beyond criminal justice to look at the effect on poor, urban communities where a significant number of people are informing or being pressured to inform. Criminal justice may be the residents' dominant experience of government, and they see crimes that go unpunished (because the perpetrators cut deals); moreover, violence escalates.
I enjoyed the whole book, but if you have limited time, just read the recommendations in Chapter 8.
For more, see Natapoff's blog, Snitching, http://www.snitching.org/.
September 27, 2010
If you have ever thought about criminal justice, particularly around police and prosecutor discretion/misconduct, you can skip this book. If not and you're interested, it's a good, basic primer.
Overall, the book felt like a mediocre grad school research paper. I had high hopes, especially for the recommendation section, which turned out to be very rudimentary, but was really disappointed.
Overall, the book felt like a mediocre grad school research paper. I had high hopes, especially for the recommendation section, which turned out to be very rudimentary, but was really disappointed.
June 11, 2013
Absolute must-read for anyone studying American criminal justice.
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February 17, 2022Read this book for a school paper because it coincides with my topic. Was a really interesting read and provided some good info and perspective.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews