Community Empowerment

So, in theory anyway, police are supposed to work with their communities in reducing crime. The official name for this is something silly like Operation Triangle, or 10-70-20, or some other useless moniker because when all is said and done no police officer will state, on record, that a citizen can intervene in a crime with force, if only because that officer will be shitcanned faster than Taco Bell in the digestive tract for the sake of our favorite pagan god: Liability.

If you think Liability (yes, you always capitalize) is not a pagan god, what else do we collectively sacrifice so much blood, time, and money for if not a god?

So while police are supposed to reach out to these communities we're supposed to refrain from pointing out that it's generally legal to blow away some asshole who you observe breaking into your car at night, or from organizing your neighborhood watch into an armed pseudo-militia to run out the drug peddlers, since even the most cracked out pusher will head inside when the cops come calling. Or maybe pointing out that it's legal to keep a live alligator in your backyard as a protective measure.

However, every now and again there's a community that's either too heavily invested in illegal activity to cooperate, or even speak to police about these ventures, or maybe they're just comprised too heavily of a "target" population like illegal immigrants afraid that going to the police will result in deportation. For these illegal immigrant populations I've found that allowing them to reduce their own crime figures works pretty well, at least until other police come by and ruin the "illusion" for them. Which is kind of a dick thing to do, since it's not only legal, but expected under the Peelian structure of policing (the one that all modern police agencies are based on, supposedly ).

For the other, the apartment complex where drug peddling is the source of income for 75% of the residents, you can't expect much cooperation, unless the crime is something that suits their interest. For instance, there is a dumbass punk having sex with some dude 26 years her senior. So, legally, he's a rapist as statutory rape is a thing. We can go asking around about him, but everyone says the same thing "I dunno nothin". So, you look for that one door, or one guy that nobody bumps into, even  when the hallways are jam packed with people trying to cool breeze away from the cops and you knock on that door. It's a dangerous game, but when the tatted up head asshole opens up you ask if he knows the dude in the photo. He's gonna say no. If he's feeling generous, or like acting a bit for you, he might even look at the photo. Then you ask him:
"Hey man, you got kids?"
"Yeah, a 7 year old girl"
"Well, lemme tell you, this cat's out here raping little girls man. Just did a 12 year old over there, so we're lookin for him."
Let that sink in for a minute.
"Lemme see that picture again."
"You recognize him?"
"Naw man, I just wanna memorize his photo..."

That's community policing.

Conspicuous vs. Inconspicuous

Sometimes a man, or woman, just has to turn to criminal activity to makes ends meet, or because they have absolutely no skills, or because they're plain crazy. It's not for me to judge. And some of these activities require a certain amount of guile, or stealth, or just being unnoticed, while others may require a certain amount of.... advertising if you will, while still not eliciting police attention. 

While I understand that, like the majestic peacock, you need a certain eye catching draw as a  prostitute, you should not go full crazy housewife wearing a purple showercap and a highlighter pink jacket and then claim that you were mistaken for someone else. Nobody wears that crap.

So, to summarize:

Inconspicuous:
Bland T Shirt.

Anything eliciting the descriptor "nondescript"

Jeans.

A jacket in basic shades or colors. 

Even camo attire is becoming more and more common these days. 

Conspicuous:
Colors that warn bears of venom

Colors that tend not to appear in Nature

Clothes that are worn inside behind drawn shades.

A lack of shoes. 

Shirts with "loud" things emblazoned upon them (ie COPS CAN SUCK DICKS)

Facial Tribal Tattoos