Portland’s Black Population (6.3%) Responsible for the Creation of Anti-Violence Group of ‘Somebody Needs Information That Can Help (S.N.I.T.C.H)’

Stuff Black People Don’t Like
November 11, 2015

Portland, Oregon.

A city under siege by criminal gangs.

Black gangs, Bloods and Crips, in a city that is only 6.3 percent black.

Thanks Black people of Portland: "Launched in conjunction with “National Homicide Victims Awareness Month,” the campaign is marked by a billboard near NE Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard & Skidmore Street."
Thanks Black people of Portland: “Launched in conjunction with “National Homicide Victims Awareness Month,” the campaign is marked by a billboard near NE Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard & Skidmore Street.”

In a city that 93.7 percent non-black (76.1 percent white), only 6.3 percent of the population is responsible for all the violence keeping police busy. [800 rounds fired in 145 Portland-area gang incidents this year, KGW.com, 10-7-15]

Yes, all the violence.

And in a city where the black community won’t snitch on black criminals, a program necessary only because individual blacks collectively make Portland violent is being initiated.

Courtesy of an organization called ‘Enough is Enough‘ we see 6.3 percent of Portland’s population responsible for the creation of the Office of Youth Violence Prevention rolling out the aptly named Somebody Needs Information That Can Help (S.N.I.T.C.H). Here’s the mission statement of S.N.I.T.C.H.

Yes, the black population of Portland is responsible for the creation of S.N.I.T.C.H. and they represent only 6.3 percent of the city’s population. [Portland campaign encourages violent crime witnesses to come forward, KGW.com, 10-9-15]:

As we near the end of a particularly violent year in Portland, city officials are partnering with community-led group ‘Enough is Enough’ to ask for help finding justice for local families.

Their strategy comes in the form of a new campaign, dubbed “S.N.I.T.C.H.” It stands for “Someone Needs Information That Can Help!”

“If you know what happened, and you refuse to talk, that’s crazy. Somebody, at some point, has to have a heart and has to step up and say enough is enough,” said Brenda Davis, whose son Terry Norris was shot to death in 1999.

“I’m begging you,” she added. “Please, just come and say something. That’s all it takes. I don’t care. Take a note, pin it to a rock and throw it through a window. I don’t care how you get it out there, but you’ve got to step up and say something.”

Launched in conjunction with “National Homicide Victims Awareness Month,” the campaign is marked by a billboard near NE Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard & Skidmore Street. It encourages witnesses of violent crimes to report what they know, via their local Crime Stoppers tip line. Here in Portland, that number is (503) 823-HELP.

According to Portland police, there have been 27 homicides this year to date. That’s compared to last year’s final total of 26.

When it comes to gang violence, though, police say the contrast is much more dramatic.

So far in 2015, PPB has responded to 160 instances involving gang violence. Sgt. Pete Simpson says the vast majority of those have been shootings.

That amount is up from 109 in 2014, 106 in 2013, 118 in 2012 and 103 in 2011.

Portland police say the goal is to break through the fear that often keeps witnesses from coming forward.

“I almost ask, who do you know that something has happened to them because they’re a witness? Did you hear about that? Or do you know that?” said Officer Marci Jackson. “It’s your responsibility to be a witness.”

“Launched in conjunction with “National Homicide Victims Awareness Month,” the campaign is marked by a billboard near NE Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard & Skidmore Street.”

It only takes a population representing 6.3 percent of the city to bring it to its knees.

Truly, a powerful reminder of the contributions of black people to the United States of America.