Pro-snitch T-shirts rally Philly citizens

GERMANTOWN, Pa., Aug. 28 (UPI) -- A suburban Philadelphia man says his T-shirts promoting "snitching" are a necessary step in combating crime that is dragging down the city's young people.

Jeff Templeton, 36, of Philadelphia's Germantown neighborhood, told The Philadelphia Inquirer that his shirts, which say "Don't let me see you do it" are meant to rally the residents of neighborhoods where gangs exploit an anti-snitching message that had gained cultural traction in some areas.

"This 'stop snitching' is going to be the end of us all if we continue to let it run our city," said Templeton, who was at the scene of a Germantown store where the shopkeeper was killed during a robbery last week.

Templeton, who said he began falling in with gangs at a young age before his mother shipped him off to a group home, said teens don't realize that "death is permanent."

He told the Inquirer he started printing the shirts last year when he became sick of clothing glorifying Philadelphia's violent side. He said he's sold about 300 so far.