http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11232/1168666-53.stm

Here in Picksburgh we've had five murders this week  :o and the police chief basically blamed the deceased, which includes a 14-year-old.  Dude didn't mince any words.

I agree.

To further the problem, the "No Snitchin'" policy  :-X is in place so nobody is helping the cops find the perps.

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Back to that "is-ought" problem.  They way life is in the poor neighborhoods of Pittsburgh makes it quite daunting for a kid to do what he ought to do. 

It's permanently traumatizing to see your big brother gunned down when you're five years old.  The guys with the goods and the cash are the gangsters and the dope dealers in your neighborhood.  What are you going to do, work at Wendy's for minimum wage?  You see the good life on TV and the movies, and you want get those things too.  Broken families, broken schools, and a fistful of lies from the politicians.  I'd be nervous and cynical by the age of 13 too.

I know the police chief must be frustrated.  I can't blame him.  Sometimes the man appointed to solve an impossible problem throws his hands up and says, "You people fix it yourselves!"

As for the zipped lips about the crack house, those dealers give major disincentives for dropping a dime.  You tell the cops Mr. X is the ringleader on the block, the most you're going to get is a pat on the head.  If Mr. X finds out you squealed, you get your throat slit.  Weigh the options. 

Drugs are big money.  That's why the stay illegal.  The thugs you see in the 'hood are just the lowly retail pedlars in a $500 billion a year industry.  Drug money provides a lot of liquidity for your investment banks.  Those in the tony suburbs who cringe in fear of the savage crack dealer from the ghetto don't realize the crack dealer works in favor of their portfolios in the end.
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