Broken Window Crime Theory Essay

This essay will outline how crime theories are able to assist in recognizing the causes of criminal activity, as well as demonstrating two criminological theories to two particular crimes. Overviews of trends, dimensions and victim/offenders characteristics of both crime groups will be specified. The two particular crimes that will be demonstrated throughout this essay are; Violent Crime (focusing on Assault) being linked with social learning theory and White Collar crime (focusing on terrorism) being linked to General Strain theory. In criminology, determining the motive of why people commit crimes is crucial. Over the years, many theories have been developed and they continue to be studied as criminologists pursue the best answers in eventually diminishing certain types of crime including assaults and terrorism, which will be focused on.

Departments that practice this type of policing believe that being proactive with quality-of-life violations instead of reactive will bring down the rate of more serious crimes. For example, “in the 1990s broken windows theory was first initiated New York City by Police Commissioner

Wilson and Kelling’s key idea is that disorder and the absence of controls leads to crime. Their solution is to crack down on any disorder using a twofold strategy. First an environmental improvement strategy that any broken window must be repaired immediately, otherwise more will follow and the neighbourhood will be on the slide. Secondly the police must adopt a zero tolerance policing strategy. Instead of merely reacting to crime, the must proactively tackle even the slightest sign of disorder, even if it is not criminal. This

In the article, “Is Broken Windows a Broken Theory of Crime?” Kevin Drum defines the Broken Windows theory as a theory which “suggests that tolerance of small acts of disorder creates an environment that leads to rising amounts of serious crime. So if police crack down on small offenses – petty vandalism, public lewdness, etc. – crime reductions will follow” Though this theory has been around for a long time, it is still not a sound theory of crime.

William Bratton, commissioner of the New York Police Department from 1994 to 1996, presided over a dramatic decline in the city’s crime rate. Hired by Mayor Rudolph Giuliani as part of a new crime fighting initiative, Bratton embraced the “broken windows” theory that had made him so successful as chief of the city’s transit police. According to this theory, when a community ignores small offenses such as a broken window on a parked car, larger offenses such as burglary, robbery, and assault inevitably follow. Conversely, serious crime can be prevented if a community polices the little

The “broken windows” model of policing was created as an experimental way of policing areas of high crime. The main focus of the “broken windows” model of policing was

The second disorder falls under social chaos such as noisy neighbours, noisy youth groups on street corners, and aggressive panhandlers. These two types of disorders were thought to increase fear among a community as suggested by the article ‘Broken Windows”. To execute on the broken windows theory, police officers were assigned on foot patrols in communities who had high concentrations of both physical and social disorders (mainly in poor communities). After a five year study conducted by the Police Foundation in Washington, D.C, foot patrol did not reduce crime in communities but rather created the illusion of a safer community. Individuals in communities believed “that crime had been reduced, and seemed to take fewer steps to protect themselves from crime”(Broken Windows 1). These findings would serve as incentives to enforce informal control in a community such as, removing or hiding both social and physical disorders in a community. For example, there is no law against looking drunk and homeless, but this social disorder in a community can portray negligence towards the community, which can invite more disorderly conduct. Officers would then, enforce informal control by either suggesting the person to go somewhere else or making an arrest under the charges of vagrancy.

Kelling and Wilson’s article “Broken Windows” focuses on the importance of disorder in generating and sustaining crime that is more severe. The writers explain that disorder is not directly related to serious crime, but instead leads to increased fear as well as withdrawal from residents, which allows more serious crime to move in because of decreased levels of informal societal control. Kelling and Wilson believe that police can play a key role in disrupting this process. If they put their focus on disorder and minor crimes in neighborhoods that have not yet been overtaken by serious crime, they can help reduce fear and resident withdrawal. The promotion of advanced levels of informal social control can help people take control of their neighborhood

According to criminologists James Q. Wilson and George Kelling, “… crime is the inevitable result of disorder.” (qtd. In Gladwell, paragraph 2). Wilson and Kelling are the masterminds behind The Broken Windows theory. The theory states that is a window is left unfixed after it is broken, people will come to the conclusion that there is no control. If that happens, more windows will be broken signifying that anything can happen. Dress code violations, mass shootings, and police brutality encounters are examples of broken windows.

One pointed out in the article is the broken windows theory. This was a theory identified and brought to urban police departments in 1982. It became popular fast. The idea behind it is that if a symbol of disorder, such as a broken window, in a neighborhood is not dealt with, it invites the criminal or disorderly element into the area to cause further harm and mayhem. The author points out that the popularity of such a theory, while seemingly effective, brought negative impacts to neighborhoods by keeping the minor offenders on a path of recidivism. According to the author, this would in turn create an “impoverished society.” Causing people to be unable to achieve employment or maintain an honorable position in society. The idea of a person causing disorder became the focus, giving way to an increase in the arrest of the homeless or mentally ill, and an even further increase in the arrest of

The broken windows theory, originally pioneered by James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling argues that a broken window is a sign that no one cares about the appearance of the property. This proverbial broken window in turn encourages other residents to neglect their property. This further sends the entire neighborhood into a downward spiral, we begin to see large amounts of litter scattered throughout the neighborhood, home owners move out, houses become vacant and left to deteriorate, rental properties begin to spring up, and single family homes are turned into multifamily homes. As the income of residents decreases so does the property value of the neighborhood, and gradually a criminal element begins to establish itself within the neighborhood.

The broken windows theory is a criminological theory that if a neighborhood looks rotten then the more trouble it welcomes. In 1982, George L. Kelling and James Q. Wilson released an article focusing on the importance of the disorder. This theory is strongly attached to the African- American community. An area that shows a low population of existences states that fear or crime related situations caused the massive egress of residents. The lack of people to care for a community results into buildings looking forgotten. Therefore, broken windows appearance is a great way for convicts to hide because no one would go near a place that comes into view as spine-chilling. In additions, this produces a high risk of anxiety for African -American males believe that any moment a police officer can stop, question, and frisk them out of anticipation.

James Q. Wilson and George Kelling in 1982 developed the idea of the Broken Windows Theory. The Broken Windows theory was the first study linking minor crime being left unattended to growing into serious crime. That crime originated from disorder. Wilson and Kelling argued by eliminating disorder, serious crime will decrease. The types of disorders are explained in further depth. The first type of disorder is physical disorder. Examples of physical disorder is but not limited to vacant buildings, broken windows, abandoned vehicles, and vacant lots filled with trash. The second type of disorder is defined by noise, hostile panhandlers and young adults gathering in groups on corners. These forms of disorder make the community appear unsafe

Criminologist James Q. Wilson and George Kelling developed "the Broken Window theory". According to their theory they believed "that crime is the inevitable result of disorder" (Gladwell 155). The broken window theory is known as a disorder and as chaos, therefore, crimes become an issue due to the fact that the impression of no one being in charge causes crimes to happen one after another and worsening along the way. An example often used is a broken window, which leads to another broken window, to graffiti, to loitering, etc. The disorder, the chaos and the abandonment of something or a place causes crimes to be followed one after another - "crime is contagious" (Gladwell 155). According to the broken window theory, broken windows should not be left alone. They should be fixed in order for crime to decrease; therefor broken windows should not be tolerated due to the fact that it may cause an increase of crimes as well.

M., Johari, N., & Salleh, M. M. 2012). This reflects the findings of broken windows theory by Wilson and Kelling (1982). The premise behind broken windows theory is that if an area is vandalized and then left unrepaired that gives off a releaser cue, which is that that area or space has little meaning or value to the community and that little attention will be paid to further vandalization or criminal activity; this the starts a chain reaction in which small crimes appear to be acceptable in that space which will lead to more serious crimes and disorder ( S. Schenider 2015). So according to broken windows theory it is very important to the success of public space that minor issues do not go unchecked as they may lead to a more serious problem, small things like litter, vandalization, or drug use should not be tolerated as they may lead to an increase in serious