Date of Award
5-1-2014
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Criminology and Criminal Justice
First Advisor
Mullins, Christopher
Abstract
This thesis aims to understand the complex world of the snitch. The data for this thesis comes from interviews that were obtained by Richard Rosenfeld, Bruce A. Jacobs and Richard Wright. The data was obtained by conducting interviews with 20 active offenders, 15 males and 5 females. The interviews were conducted in an informal manner and lasted between a half-hour and an hour. The interviews were conducted on a one on one basis and offenders used nicknames instead of their real names. The findings revealed that while snitching is prevalent in African American communities many of the subjects did not snitch. However, for those that have talked to police, subjects are motivated by money, jealously and dislike. Furthermore, older subjects portrayed themselves as veterans who understood the street and would rather share the criminal market and work around problems, than take them head on and possibly end up in a position where informing is the only way out.
Access
This thesis is Open Access and may be downloaded by anyone.