The Broken Windows Theory By James Q. Wilson

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.

This paper will cover two policing styles known as the “broken windows” theory and community policing. The paper will end with a small analysis of which style would be more practical long-term. This paper will start with an explanation as to what the “broken windows” theory is. Furthermore, this paper will cover some of advantages and disadvantages of that theory when put into practical application. Additionally, this essay will explain what “community policing” as defined by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). This is followed by a brief discussion some advantages and challenges that are unique to that approach. Lastly, this paper covers which one would be more viable policing in the long-term.

The broken window theory is a form of law that stops serious and non violent crimes, which can be reduced crime in urban cities. This strict enforcement is to stop non violent crimes such as skipping school, graffiti, vandalism and not paying fair. This law was first introduced in New York City in 1980, ever since the level of crimes has dropped even violent crimes such as rape, murder has gone down. New York started seeing their results in the early 1990s, and 2000. George Kelling was the founder of the broken windows theory; he first stated in a magazine article that if a building has multiple broken

Broken windows policing is more of an emphasis on physical and social disorder which produces more serious crime. The increase of physical and social disorder causes an increase of fear and withdrawal in the residents. During this time, there is a decreased social control which allows the more serious crime to occur. Due to the inactivity of social control, crime occurs more often which allows police to predict the crime and when it occurs. Some examples of broken windows policing strategies are stop-and-frisk, zero tolerance, and NYC Subway.

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.

"The appeal of broken windows theory is both emotive and instrumental in nature. It is emotive because it harks back to a nostalgic construction of community and neighbourhoods as homogenous environments where clear standards of morality are known and respected". Broken Window approach was an academic theory proposed theory that used a building’s broken windows as a metaphor for a disorder within neighbourhoods. Their theory joins issue and incivility inside a group to ensuing events of genuine wrongdoing. As indicated by this method, a broken window that remains in place is a proclamation that no one thinks enough about the value of life in the neighborhood or area to cause any trouble to bother to fixing the miniscule things that go wrong.

In 1969 Philip Zimbardo conducted an experiment. He placed two identical cars in two contrasting neighbourhoods: one prim and proper, and the other run-down and disordered. Within two days the car in the run-down neighbourhood was ruined. The other car wasn 't ruined until Zimbardo took a hammer to the window and shattered it. It didn 't take long for others to step in and completely ruin the car (Engel et al., 2014).

Throughout the article many different examples are used to support the idea that Broken Windows Theory Policing is an effective way to fight crime. The primary example of this is in New York City, when the then mayor of New York City took on Bratton as the new police chief. He then went on to bring in Broken Windows policing. Almost immediately crime rates began to fall. However, many people disagree about the true reason the crime rates fell.

According to the media’s perception of the police department, police officers shoot first and ask questions later. Moreover, that distorted way of thinking is dangerous, namely, the general public usually form their opinion through the eyes of the media. However, in the 1970’s and 80’s, it was believed if the condemned buildings and broken windows were repaired, that concept reduced the level of crime considerably because criminals had a tendency to gravitate toward the impoverished neighborhoods (Zimmermann, U. 2013).

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

Government officials are continually searching for ways to increase the safety of its citizens. Research has shown that one such way to accomplish this task is through the maintaining of public areas. Since the early 1980s, this idea has been known as the Broken Windows Theory. Applying this theory in the urban setting can increase the quality of living for the area citizens, help prevent future crimes, and promote a positive relationship between the police force and the citizens.

According to James Q. Wilson and Geroge Kelling in their theoretical article piece "Broken Windows," the Broken Windows Theory concludes that if disorder goes untreated in neighborhoods, the fear of crime goes up in citizens and police officers, and more disorder will lead. The focus on police officers obligating to socialize more personally with its citizens in neighborhoods leads to citizens having more favorable opinions of the police and for residents to feel more secure. In effect, those residents would think that crime has been reduced in their neighborhood. Although with the practice of personal socialization [foot patrol] for police officers its citizens in neighborhoods, crimes rates have shown no decline in crime, however, citizen's perception of police officers and their neighborhoods grow favorable."

In The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference Malcolm Gladwell presents the Broken Window Theory. This theory looks at the impetus of crime. ¨The impulse of people to get involve in a certain kind of behavior¨ (Gladwell). New York´s subway stations saw a change when crime decreased. By changing the little things David Gunn and William Bratton manage to come up with a cleaner, safer and better subway systems for everyone in the New York area. One thing leads to the other that is a broken window. My community, West Odessa, could look better if a broken window had a positive impact on it. I will make a change and hopefully people will get involve after seeing me do it. I will take care of my plants and trees and water them more often. Make my house look nicer by cleaning and decorating it. And make sure there is no trash in or close to my house.