no snitching
Keep it quiet
No snitching is a code against informing on others to authorities, especially police.
Rooted in street and prison culture, it treats cooperation with law enforcement as betrayal deserving punishment.
The principle has spread into broader use, sometimes invoked half-seriously: What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas—no snitching.
Critics argue it protects criminals at the community's expense.
- ratRodent or informer
- informantOne who provides intelligence
- loyaltyFaithful commitment to another
- gang loyaltyCommitment to one's group
- ride or dieUnfailingly loyal person
silence · keep quiet · code · street code · streets · omerta · betrayal · trust · witness · witness intimidation · cops · blue wall · hood · protect · squeal · tattletale · narc · honor
- Mafiamafia, Cosa Nostra, Sicilian Mafia, Five Families, Colombo
no snitchinginforming
Conveying facts to another
turning state's evidence · testifying · whistleblowing · snitching · ratting out
no snitchingfull disclosure
Withholding no information
breaking silence · coming forward · transparency · truth-telling · bearing witness
no snitchingcivic responsibility
Obligations to one's community
community policing · neighborhood watch · law and order · crime stoppers