Victim and Witness Intimidation Elsa Y

Santa Clara University Scholar Commons

Political Science College of Arts & Sciences

2009 Victim and Witness Intimidation Elsa Y. Chen Santa Clara University, [email protected]

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Recommended Citation Chen, Elsa Y. “Victim and Witness Intimidation.” Encyclopedia of Race and Crime. Editors Helen Taylor Greene and Shaun L. Gabbidon. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications (2009).

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Websites that 26% of 295 witnesses had been threatened. Vera Institute of Justice: http://www.vera.org More recent surveys of prosecutors have found that victim and witness intimidation is suspected in upward of 75% of crimes committed in gang dominated neighborhoods, and that the practice is VICTIM AND WITNESS increasing in frequency. According to New York INTIMIDATION Times reports, at least 19 witnesses we~e killed in New York City from 1980 to 2003. The British Victim or witness intimidation is the practice of Crime Survey has found lower estimates of victim threatening, harming, or otherwise instilling fear and witness intimidation in the United Kingdom in a victim of, or witness to, a crime, in an effort than in the United States. to prevent him or her from reporting a crime or Researchers have found that victim or witness testifying in court. It may also be used to convince intimidation is more likely to occur in cases where a victim or witness to recant testimony that has guns, gangs, or serious violence is involved, the already been made. The intimidation may involve defendant has a personal connection to the witness, physical violence, explicit threats of physical vio and/or the defendant and witness live in close prox lence, implicit threats, and/or property damage. imity. The elderly, children, physically or mentally Threats may be made by the defendant or by his handicapped persons, and recent or illegal immi or her friends, family, fellow gang members, or grants are especially vulnerable. Victim intimida other associates. Most victim and witness intimi tion is also common in cases of domestic violence. dation takes place in time either between the defendant's arrest and his or her trial or during the Victim and Witness Intimidation trial, in the courtroom. in Minority Communities The current practice of victim and witness intimidation can be categorized into two broad Community-wide implicit victim and witness types. Overt intimidation takes place when a wit intimidation has become particularly severe and ness or victim or his or her family or friends are widespread in neighborhoods dominated by gangs harmed or threatened explicitly, often in connec and drugs, including many predominantly African tion with a specific case. Implicit intimidation American and Latina/o inner-city areas. Asian occurs when there is a legitimate but unexpressed gangs also engage in intimidation. A well-known threat of harm. In communities with high rates of example of implicit intimidation is a grassroots gang or drug activity, actual threats may not need campaign known as "Stop Snitchin'," which to be made. It may simply be understood that began in Baltimore around 2004 and quickly cooperation with criminal justice authorities will spread to other urban areas by several means, result in retaliation, and this may be sufficient to including CDs and DVDs, websites, T -shirts, and create a pervasive atmosphere of fear and silence. rap lyrics. The movement's purpose is to urge community members not to cooperate with crimi nal justice authorities, and to remind them that Prevalence "snitches wear stitches." Gang members have Estimates of the prevalence of victim and witness appeared in courtrooms wearing Stop Snitchin' intimidation vary widely. A 1990 study conducted T -shirts, provoking efforts to ban the shirts by by the Victim Services Agency (VSA) in the Bronx, judges and political officials. The success of the New York, found that 36% of 260 victims who Stop Snitchin' movement can be attributed in part were interviewed reported having been threat to some community members' anger regarding the ened; the figure was higher (54%) for those who high rate of incarceration among minority men, had romantic or blood ties to the offenders. A frustration over criminal justice authorities' use of 1980 VSA study in Brooklyn found that 39% of informants from the community and jails or pris witnesses who were surveyed feared revenge and ons to facilitate the prosecution and incarceration 838 Victim and Witness Intimidation

process, and general mistrust of law enforcement operations. Infortunately, without witness testi officials, who often do not provide adequate pro mony, prosecutors are often unable to proceed tection for those who do cooperate and sometimes with cases involving powerful gang members or reward unreliable informants with leniency in drug dealers suspected of serious offenses such as prosecution or sentencing. The Stop Snitchin' homicide, assault, or kidnapping. mantra is redolent of the Italian Mafia's centuries old code known as omerta, an oath of silence Policy Responses and Remedies prohibiting cooperation with the authorities under any circumstances. Many efforts have been made, with limited suc The culture and attitudes surrounding rap and cess thus far, to prevent victim and witness intimi hip hop music have perpetuated the practice of dation. Approaches include requesting high bail victim and witness intimidation and the implicit or pretrial detention of defendants, aggressive code of silence. Some well-known rap artists have prosecution of those accused of tampering with refused to cooperate in criminal cases in which witnesses, and providing information, protection, they or their friends or members of their entou relocation, material support, and other services to rages were victims or suspects. Other popular rap witnesses. pers have produced songs urging listeners not to Pretrial detention of defendants has limited speak with the police. The murders of several rap effects on victim and witness intimidation, because and hip hop stars, including Tupac Shakur, the threats are often made and carried out by parties Notorious B.I.G., and Jam Master Jay from Run other than the defendant. This is particularly true D.M.C., remain unsolved because of witnesses' in cases involving gang members. Although witness unwillingness to violate the "code of the street" by tampering and obstruction of justice are illegal, speaking to the police or testifying in court. these crimes are not always punished. Some juris dictions have made efforts to prosecute or revoke the probation or parole of those who threaten or Consequences harm witnesses or attempt to influence their testi The continuing practice of victim and witness mony. Efforts have also been made in some states intimidation has widespread and serious conse to increase penalties for those offenses. quences. Witness intimidation forces prosecutors The proactive management of witnesses is to drop or lose cases, often despite the fact that essential to reduce intimidation and its conse the crimes in question may have been observed by quences. Some law enforcement agencies have numerous bystanders and a suspect identified with encouraged victims and witnesses to file reports at certainty. It permits offenders to remain free and the police station rather than at the scene of a to continue committing crimes. It prevents victims crime, so their cooperation with the authorities and their families from experiencing closure or will be less obvious. Some police officers have even regaining a sense of security. It undermines confi led witnesses away from crime scenes in handcuffs dence in law enforcement officials and criminal to conceal their role in the process. Greater avail justice authorities by revealing the extent to which ability of 'round-the-clock, confidential, or even criminals and their associates exert control over anonymous avenues for crime reporting would the streets and even over the criminal justice pro allow witnesses and victims to speak up with less cess. Drug and gang activity and violent crime fear of retaliation. may continue unchecked and escalate when vic Witness relocation programs are sometimes tims arid witnesses are unwilling or afraid to used in criminal cases when victim or witness cooperate with officials. intimidation is a problem. Witnesses are com As a result of the inability to secure witness monly relocated temporarily to hotels or motels in testimony or ensure the safety of those who do undisclosed locations, or are asked to stay with testify, some prosecutors now use civilian testi relatives or friends outside their neighborhood mony only very rarely. Instead, their cases rely before or during a trial. More rarely, they may be more heavily on evidence from sources such housed in a hotel or motel for a longer period of as police testimony, video surveillance, and sting time, provided a nominal sum of money for Victim and Witness Intimidation 839

moving expenses, or given assistance moving from time, for those who are convicted. Some prosecu one public housing development to another. The tors' offices have introduced the practice of "verti success of these approaches depends largely on the cal prosecution," where the same attorney or team witnesses' ability to refrain from returning to their follows a case from beginning to end; among other old neighborhoods or reestablishing communica benefits, this can make it easier to maintain con tion with former contacts while they remain at tact with witnesses, who may otherwi~e abscond. risk. Due to resource constraints, district attorneys Assignment of police officers or prosecutors to usually cannot provide sustained financial support multiple cases involving the same community or for permanent relocation or 24-hour police protec gang can also promote the development of exper tion of witnesses. Incarcerated witnesses, often tise and relationships. Increased application of disparagingly labeled "jailhouse snitches," can be injunctions, civil suits, local ordinances, and other protected by being separated from the defendant legal remedies has also played a role in broader and his or her known associates who are held in efforts to reduce gang activity. Innovations such as the same facility or by being moved to a different gang-tracking databases, crime-mapping software, correctional institution. Incarcerated relatives or and gun- or bullet-tracing technologies have also friends of nonincarcerated witnesses may require been used. similar protection. In addition to gang suppression measures, suc Judges have taken steps such as prohibiting the cessful efforts to reduce community-wide intimida use of cell phones to take photographs or send text tion also require criminal justice officials to messages in the courtroom and banning Stop establish and build relationships of trust with Snitchin' shirts from courthouses. Removing or members of crime-ridden neighborhoods. This barring spectators from courtrooms is not com process can be initiated through increased com monly used because it conflicts with the defen munity outreach and public relations efforts. dant's right to a public trial and might increase the Interagency cooperation and communication likelihood that a conviction would be overturned between prosecutors, law enforcement agencies on appeal. Likewise, the use of videotaped testi (including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the mony from victims and witnesses conflicts with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the defendant's right to cross-examine witnesses and Department of Housing and Urban Development, therefore is usually not used. and other federal agencies), correctional authori Other approaches that have been taken to ties, code enforcement offices, social service orga reduce courtroom intimidation include escorting nizations, public housing authorities, tenant witnesses to and from court appearances, allowing associations, religious organizations, and commu witnesses to be "on call" rather than making nity groups can enhance victim support and pre unnecessary trips to court, providing separate vent intimidation. For example, one approach waiting areas for defendants and witnesses, arrest sometimes taken by district attorneys is commu ing gang members entering the courtroom if they nity prosecution, where attorneys work closely have outstanding warrants or are in violation of with community policing units and form partner the terms of their probation by associating with ships with neighborhood residents and local other known gang members, and filling courtroom groups. Some police departments and prosecutors' audiences with members of community support offices have gang units whose role can be not only groups to counterbalance the influence of specta to arrest and prosecute gang members but also to tors who side with the defendant. develop in-depth understanding of local gangs and Reducing community-wide intimidation is to try to build a positive rapport and earn the trust clearly very difficult. Relatively new approaches to and respect of local youth. Greater efforts by combating victim and witness intimidation include criminal justice authorities and public officials to the use of federal racketeering laws, formerly used increase the public's awareness of available legal mainly in organized crime cases, to prosecute and social resources would help combat victim and street gang members. This method allows for use witness intimidation as well. of the federal witness protection program and more severe penalties,. including federal prison Elsa Y. Chen 840 Victimization, African American

See also Brown v. Mississippi; Drug Cartels; Drug Dealers; Drug Trafficking; Jamaican Posse; Stop Snitching V ICTIMIZATION, AFRICAN Campaign AMERICAN

African Americans have higher rates of victimiza Further Readings tion than any other race in the United States. The Butterfield, F. (2005, January 16). Guns and jeers used most basic definition of a victim is someone who by gangs to buy silence. The New York Times. has been harmed in some way; a crime victim, Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/16/ then, is an individual who has been victimized by national/16gangs.html a criminal. Criminologists historically have focused Davis, R. C., Smith, B. E., & Henley, M. (1990). Victim/ on criminals rather than on victims. With the witness intimidation in the Bronx courts: How recent advent of the field of victimology, more common is it, and what are its consequences? New attention has been given to victims, although York: Victim Services Agency. much of the early research focused on defining the Elliott, R. (1998). Vulnerable and intimidated witnesses: ways in which victims had contributed to their A review of the literature. London: Home Office own victimization. In the late 1960s, criminolo Research and Statistics Directorate. gists began to devote more attention to victims, Finn, P., & Healey, K. M. (1996). Preventing gang and particularly child abuse and domestic violence drug-related witness intimidation. Washington, DC: victims. However, it is only in recent years that National Institute of Justice. criminologists have begun to devote more atten Glaberson, William. (2003, July 6). "Lie or Die" tion to African American victims. Fully under Aftermath of a murder; justice, safety, and the system: standing the plight of African American victims A witness is slain in Brooklyn. The New York Times. requires that consideration be given to six differ Retrieved from http://query .nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.h tml?res=9F05EFDE163DF935A35754COA9659C8B63 ent areas: Hampson, R. (2006, March 29). Anti-snitch campaign riles police, prosecutors; Is it a grass-roots backlash 1. The extent of victimization against African against criminals turned informers or intimidation? Americans USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.november.org/ 2. Patterns of victimization stayinfo/breaking06/StopSnitchin06.html Healey, K. M. (1995). Victim and witness intimidation: 3. Risk factors for victimization among African New developments and emerging responses. Americans Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice. 4. Consequences of victimization Kocieniewski, D. (2007, March 1). With witnesses at risk, murder suspects go free. The New York Times. 5. Factors related to help-seeking behavior Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/01/ 6. Problems inhibiting understanding about the nyregion/01 witness.html victimization of African Americans Kocieniewski, D. (2007, November 19). Keeping witnesses off stand to keep them safe. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/ Extent of Victimization 2007/11/19/nyregion119witness.htrnl Against African Americans Powell, B., & Small, P. (2007, April 26). Hip hop code of silence envelops youths; Critics blame rap for some Table 1 shows the victimization rates of African people's q:fusal to "snitch" on criminals. Toronto Americans and Whites for several different offense Star, p. Al. categories, according to the National Crime Victimi Tarling, R., Dowds, L., & Budd, T. (2000). Victim and zation Survey. The National Crime Victimization witness intimidation: Key findings from the British Survey is an annual survey conducted by the U.S. Crime Survey. London: Home Office Research, Department of Justice that assesses self-reported Development, and Statistics Directorate. victimization among individuals 12 years of age Whitman, J. L., & Davis, R. C. (2007). Snitches get and older in the United States. stitches. Washington, DC: National Center for Several patterns can be readily seen in these Victims of Crime. data. First, the overall rates of violence for African