Theories on Why Crime Occurs Essay

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.

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

New York City during the 1990s has experience crime rates dropping dramatically under Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton lead. Both began new approach to policing by developing several new strategies under the proponent of “broken windows” theory. Under Bratton, the NYPD began to enforce statutes aimed at curbing “quality of life” offense, offenses that are minor and were overlooked in the past in favor to concentrate on serious crimes. Under the Broken Windows theory, small crimes leads to bigger crimes so taking a stance against the minor behavior sends a signal to the community that any kind of law breaking would not be tolerated. Community policing program was adopted in a minor form as police officials focused their

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.

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.

In 1982, James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling presented an article that called for a change in police tactics to enhance neighborhood safety entitled simply “Broken Windows”. This article was hailed as the godsend that everyone was waiting for because at the time crime rates were extremely high and murder had peaked just two years prior to the release of this article. Wilson and Kelling declare that a return to “order-maintenance” police function is the key to providing safe neighborhoods (Kelling and Wilson 104). This is achieved through foot patrol officers that enact regulations for their patrol areas which keep individuals in their place and “strengthen the informal social control mechanisms of natural communities” (Kelling and Wilson

In New York City, many attribute the drop in crime rates to the institution of Broken Windows Policing (BWP) in ’93. Oddly the drop began before this policy was instituted and was also mirrored across the United States. Drum presents the theory

The broken windows thesis is a criminological concept that is based in older theories of social ecology, social disorganization, and situational crime prevention. It basically says that neighborhoods that show signs of decline or tolerate open criminal behavior, such as vandalism, prostitution, drug crime, vagrancy, etc. send a message to others that nobody cares about the neighborhood or nobody pays attention, and that more serious crimes will go unchallenged or unnoticed. Where it gets its name is from the reality that when you see an old abandoned building all the windows are broken and that is because once people broke one and nothing happened, the opportunity was there to break them all. The same rational applies to society.

Driving past the darkened and dilapidated buildings sporting broken windows and colorful graffiti, the uneasy motorist immediately accelerates the speed of the vehicle to escape the possibility of being attacked. Undoubtedly, in view of its appearance, this neighborhood must be plagued with the criminal element. Nearby, the carjacker crouches in the shadows undetected, knowing this is the perfect place to commit the intended felonious deed. Broken Windows is a metaphor for a neighborhood in physical disrepair and deterioration. The Broken Windows theory based on this metaphor was “first advanced in a 1982 article by James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling titled “Broken Windows: The Police and Neighborhood Safety” (Schmalleger,

Broken Windows was originated by social scientist James Q. Wilson. and George Kelling the model was focused on the important of disorder “broken windows” in generating and sustaining more serious crime. In this case disorder was not directly linked to serious crimes but instead disorder lead to increased fear and withdrawal from residents, which allowed much serious crimes to come about because of the decreased of informal social control. Police can play a key role in disrupting this process If they were to focus less on serious crimes in neighborhoods where it has no yet been overtaken by serious crimes, by doing so they can help reduce fear and residential withdrawal. It leaves criminals free to roam and send a message that law violations are not taken seriously. For example, communities that are not occupied or are taken care for are mostly likely to attract juveniles or criminal gangs that will vandalize other properties because they interpret that to being what’s right and normal in their society, they know that nothing will be done to either stop it or them. The way broken window plays a role into this example is by trying to communicate to societies that if they fix the problem when its minor then other crimes will decrease or would not occur.

Since it didn’t seem as a focus in California they began to break windows to let people know this car is an unwanted target to see if anyone would intervene with it after. This gave psychologist and idea and came up with a new theory that was called “ The Broken Window Theory” this played a huge part in an environmental role. People who believe in this theory believe it all starts with the neighborhood, living conditions, and how police work with the community. For example, if it’s an area where there is graffiti everywhere, drugs being distributed, and just problematic crimes that aren't being taken care of, it would become traditional. Kids in these environments are used to seeing these things and raised around it so they are more than likely to pick up these bad

In 1982, two men named James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling came up with a theory known as the broken windows theory. The metaphor the two men used was “if one window in a building is broken and remains broken, other windows will eventually be broken too.” (Kirchner, para. 2). Basically meaning a person’s actions are based on their surroundings. For example, if someone goes into a neighborhood that is clean and doesn’t have trash everywhere, they most likely wouldn’t litter. If that same person goes to a neighborhood that is a little more run down, it’s clear that the people that reside there don’t care about their neighborhood, he/she is more likely to litter. It’s believed the same for serious crime, as well. Another example, living in

In order to help in the achievement of social order, policing is based on several theories of crime because there is no single crime theory that describes all the criminal activities. The theories are not only complementary to each other but they also help in the development of surveillance systems, which the fundamental aspect of policing. The prevailing theories of crime that relate and are applied to policing include the crime control theory, the due process theory and the broken windows theory.

The theory currently has more weaknesses than strengths, and this is what inhibits it becoming a more relevant theory. One of the biggest-criticisms of the theory that Shaw and McKay neglected to propose ways to meliorate the biggest source of criminality in zone 2 of the concentric zones (Tibbetts, 2015). They identify that the introduction of factories and businesses into residential areas is a major-problem, and source for criminality, but fail to recommend a way to diminish this production (Tibbetts, 2015). Furthermore, the assumption in this theory is that social disorganisation is the cause of delinquency, and fail to considering that other more basic factors such as the biological dynamics of the individual having a role in the actions of individuals (Lowman, 1986). In addition to only focusing on the individual’s environment, the theory ignores a range of power-processes involved in creating laws, and how those laws are policed (Roh and Choo, 2015). The theory fails to consider the impact legal and other social control measures could have-on an individual’s actions (Lowman, 1986). Additionally, Lowman (1986) discusses that there are limited methods available to utilise the theory in examining crime, the main measurement currently available is that crime and deviance within an area is significantly high, and this is tautological, therefore alternative methods need to be sought to allow more application of the theory.