2015 ANNUAL YOUTH LOCK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CAFE’
Our goal is to create a safe place for youth to have fun while learning the game of life. This year 150 youth attended our annual Youth Lock In at Incrediplex in partnership with CAFÉ on the Far Eastside of Indianapolis. Funds are provided by CICF. The age range of the youth was 10-17 years of age.
This year the topic of discussion was “Snitching versus Reporting.” In the Blackburn case where the pastor’s wife was shot and killed, IMPD and other assisting agencies arrested three people who are accused of the crime. According to news reports, the detective on the case said one of the three accused helped identify the other two persons which led to their arrest.
Why is this topic so important? In the Black Community, the word is “Snitches get Stitches” thus a high rate of black on black crime occurs from retaliation. The victim in many of the homicide cases look like the perpetrator.
Data has find that there are several reasons that the Black Community does not report crime (to name a few:
- Some of it has to do with trusting law enforcement or should I say the “lack” of trust
- People are afraid of retaliation even if it is their own family member
- Others just simply do not believe in “snitching.”
The problem with the latter reason – the definition of a snitch has been entangled with the definition of reporting. The Black community has been misled on what the true definition means to be a Snitch. Ultimately “snitching” comes down to distrust of law enforcement. Due to all of this information and the mindset within the black community – STVI felt that it was important to educate and inform the attending youth on the topic!