Esteban Parra

The News Journal

It's hard to find anyone not disgusted by a pair of videos that went viral last week, in which adults can be heard laughing, even egging on two young boys fighting in Wilmington's Hilltop neighborhood.

Some were disturbed enough to leave angry comments and statements of shame on Facebook pages where the videos were posted. Others reached out to police.

But on the block where this occurred people are keeping mum – at least with outsiders, which includes police.

"You don't live here," one man said in explaining why no one on the block would talk publicly about the videos. It took a while for him to admit he was aware of the video, and he wouldn't say much about it beyond that.

"You're not going to be here when my windows are broken. You're not going to pay for that," said the man, who declined to give his name for fear of retribution.

"You might come down and want to talk to me about that, but you're not going to pay for my windows."

This code of silence is not new or even unique to Wilmington. It's part of the no-snitching culture, that gives the illusion that residents will take care of their own problems – but instead, perpetuates crime and a decline in the quality of life of already struggling neighborhoods.

The online videos showing the young children fighting began popping up on Facebook earlier this month.

Brittany Caputo, of Brandywine Hundred, was so disturbed that she called Delaware State Police on a weekend and was told she could call child protective services who would not open until the work week. She also called Wilmington police and left a message about the video, but no one had returned her call.

She then began posting the clips on different news media websites. Caputo posted two separate clips on Delawareonline's Facebook page Oct. 19 showing the children fighting while adults laughed, cheered and videoed them on the 200 block of N. Rodney St.

In one video, two young shirtless boys, fought each other on a city sidewalk. In one clip, the taller child knocks the shorter boy to the ground and he begins to cry. The 32-second clip then cuts to the two boys fighting near a porch, while a young girl tries to separate them.

A second video, that's 2 minutes and 27 seconds long, shows the shorter boy telling someone inside a parked minivan: "Get out. Get out." The little girl gets out and goes after the boy with a shoe. She also tells the boy: "You're not getting in my mother's car anymore."

All this while adults and older children watch and laugh.

Caputo, who briefly changed her Facebook handle when people posted negative comments, said it was concerning seeing something like that.

"As long as everybody stays silent, nothing is going to happen," she said. That's why people need to speak up.

"Until people are willing to change and get out there and start talking about what they want to happen then it's not going to get better."

Wilmington police are investigating.

Understanding the code

There are several reasons beyond the no-snitch culture that maintains the silence, Professor Yasser Payne of the University of Delaware said. No-snitching is a belief system that makes sense for people in those communities.

"We need better science around it so that we can better understand it, so that the idea can be better elucidated," Payne said

On the streets, snitching is something that happens when one person involved in illegal activities tells authorities about another person involved in illegal activities, Payne said. Anything outside of that dynamic is actually not considered snitching, by the community or by the streets, he said.

"So if grandma or auntie or grandpa, who is not involved in the streets, were to witness or know something or see something and report that to policing authorities, by the code of the street ... it is not seen necessarily as a violation," he said.

"That still may not keep someone facing a lengthy prison sentence from intimidating or trying to harm someone," Payne said.

Other reasons people keep quiet, are because people authorities may consider an outlaw do a lot in the community, including taking care of people's needs or settling neighborhood disputes.

"Why would I tell on this guy that made sure that 10 families in Riverside Project's lights are on or make sure that our rents are taken care of for maybe five families in Southbridge," Payne asked. "Why would I tell on him?"

"I'm not saying that that's right, but if you want to understand what's going on that's another story."

Yet another story is historical mistrust, including exploitation of these communities.

The exploitation can come from professionals, such as the likes of news reporters or university researchers, who many times drop into these communities briefly, get what they want, then leave. If one wants the community to open up, one needs to work with and through the community, he said.

"They can't be in like this fishbowl," he said. "And that's how they feel, like ... we are cherry-picking the fish that we want. And we access them when we need them and we're not there when they need us."

Payne said to develop a trust and rapport, the people in these communities also have to benefit.

They might still keep an eye on you, he said, but there is that rapport and that's a start.

These problems are not unique to Wilmington, but he said Wilmington police Chief Bobby Cummings is doing some things to develop trust.

Earlier this year, Cummings said more uniformed officers, including top brass, will be walking Wilmington's hotspots. He also wants police working more closely with city agencies to address neighborhood issues.

Empowering neighborhoods

Sgt. Walter Ferris, a community policing officer, said the department is trying to help strengthen communities and get away from the "misplaced loyalty" when they keep silent.

"Criminals can intimidate one person, but you can't intimidate an entire block," Ferris said. "So if an entire block got together and either testified or approached people these criminals can't take on an entire city block of all the residents.

"That's what we are trying to do, empower them to fight."

When your neighbors are looking after you, the criminals cannot break your windows, he said.

"The whole no-snitch policy benefits criminals," he said. "It doesn't benefit the neighborhood. It doesn't benefit the community or culture. It benefits criminal activity."

An involved community also helps police because they know they have people who will help them. Otherwise, officers can become disenchanted with a community that doesn't work with them.

Ferris said police officers have to show up everything possible, not just the community meetings.

"Before when we would show up at a community event, people would go 'Oh man. Why are the cops here,' " he said. "Now I show up and people are 'Oh! Sgt. Ferris is here. Awesome.' "

Police are part of the community and they need to be seen as such, he said, adding everyone is part of law enforcement.

"We're all responsible for public safety," he said. "You're part of the law enforcement team, whether you believe it or not. You're part of it."

Contact Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299, eparra@delawareonline.com or Twitter @eparra3.