'Stop Snitching' sentiment spreads to Austin

Without witnesses, police can't solve homicide or drug cases quickly. But in Austin, police and residents say fear that people who cooperate with police will be viewed by their neighbors as snitches has more frequently affected local investigations.

Investigators call those who give police information in exchange for avoiding jail or prison time confidential informants. The word "snitch" gives them pause. "The only people who call it snitching are crooks talking to crooks," said former Homicide Commander Harold Piatt with the Austin Police Department, who is now retired.

But convicted criminals and everyday citizens seem familiar with an anti-police "Stop Snitching" sentiment that has become widely popular in recent years. The phrase started spreading a few years ago when Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony urged people to stop cooperating with police on a DVD that spawned "Stop Snitching" T-shirts and Web sites.

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