XPost: ba.politics, dc.media, soc.penpals   
   XPost: alt.burningman   
   From: serial-killer@msnbc.com   
      
   WILMINGTON, Del. -- A posting on the Instagram website that   
   listed names of people purportedly cooperating with law   
   enforcement was removed hours after The News Journal questioned   
   the social network about policy violations.   
      
   "Instagram has a clear set of community guidelines which make it   
   clear what is and isn't allowed. This includes prohibiting   
   content that bullies or harasses," an Instagram spokeswoman   
   said. "We encourage people who come across content that they   
   believe violates our terms to report it to us using the built-in   
   reporting tools next to every photo or video on Instagram."   
      
   The Instagram account, which had the username   
   "wilmington_snitches" and was first posted to in December,   
   claimed it had names of people cooperating with law enforcement.   
   There were three posts to the account.   
      
   Each post was a picture of a sheet of yellow paper with   
   handwritten names of people and where they lived. There was no   
   explanation about the source of the names.   
      
   A picture of rapper Gucci Mane (Radric Davis), who has been   
   accused of snitching by other musicians, was the profile image   
   on the account.   
      
   During a Wednesday interview with the Delaware Attorney   
   General's Office on how the agency was working to encourage   
   witnesses to come forward, prosecutors acknowledged they knew   
   about the site and had contacted Instagram. But they would not   
   talk about it.   
      
   When pressed on whether they had spoken to people listed on the   
   site, State Prosecutor Kathleen M. Jennings would not go into   
   details but said anyone caught intimidating witnesses would be   
   prosecuted.   
      
   "What I can tell you is, if someone intimidates a witness,   
   either through this site or any other site, they are going to   
   get prosecuted," Jennings said.   
      
   Witness intimidation in Delaware is a mid-level felony that can   
   land someone up to eight years in prison. The state Attorney   
   General's Office is working on revamping the law and make it a   
   more serious offense, including a Class B felony which carries a   
   two-year to 25-year prison stint.   
      
   The department expects to have a bill requesting the changes to   
   state lawmakers later this month.   
      
   Delaware and other states have been trying to get tough on   
   people caught using social networks to intimidate witnesses.   
      
   A Philadelphia teen admitted last month in Family Court that he   
   posted photos of shooting victims and secret court documents on   
   Twitter and was sentenced to four years at a juvenile detention   
   center.   
      
   Because of the "no snitch" culture that plagues many   
   communities, law enforcement at times struggles to find   
   witnesses to come forward.   
      
   "It's a huge problem for the criminal justice system, beginning   
   with what happens at the initial stage of a crime scene,"   
   Jennings said. "There will be 10 or 20 people standing around   
   and nobody says anything. Victims who get shot don't give their   
   correct names, they get private transport to a hospital and have   
   no idea why they get shot."   
      
   While there are a lot of reasons for this mentality, Jennings   
   said the main ones are fear, as well as a disconnect and a lack   
   of trust in the criminal justice system.   
      
   Witnesses refusing to cooperate are huge obstacles to successful   
   prosecution of crimes, Wilmington police Cpl. Mark Ivey said.   
      
   "It is incredibly frustrating to know a crime occurred right in   
   front of a person and they claim they did not see anything,"   
   Ivey said. "We have outstanding investigators who collect,   
   analyze and synthesize evidence and information, but the   
   ultimate outcome depends on cooperation from our fellow citizens.   
      
   "A 'no snitch' mentality is simply incompatible with a culture   
   of safety and prosperity that this city deserves."   
      
   Herman Holloway Jr., a Wilmington community activist who last   
   summer helped lead a billboard campaign urging citizens to   
   anonymously report tips to police, said these social sites can   
   create hurdles in reporting crimes.   
      
   Even if everyone in the community is talking about who did what,   
   these people struggle to talk to police about it.   
      
   "Among our younger generation, the teenagers and others, they   
   are fearful of the retaliation," Holloway said, adding that's   
   why it's important to have ways for people to anonymously report   
   tips.   
      
   http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/01/17/instagram-   
   snitches-removed/4612283/   
      
        
      
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