The Broken Windows Theory of Policing

1 Criminology The Broken Windows Theory of Policing The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world owing to rampant crime.

To prevent the occurrence of criminal activity, it is important to curb it at its roots. One such strategy is the broken windows policing theory. The theory was introduced by Philip Zimbardo, an American psychologist whose main area of research was criminal behavior. According to Zimbardo, if a building had a broken window and it was left unrepaired, soon enough the other windows in the same building would also be broken. The broken window is a sign that no one cares enough to repair it, so others can be broken. He used the broken window as an analogy for small crimes and wrongdoings. If left unaddressed or unpunished, soon enough they would graduate to more significant crimes (Kelling & Coles, 1997).

The Broken Windows theory holds that any evident signs of crime and criminal activity such as vandalism, broken windows, littering and loitering are indicators of growing disorder and should be prosecuted before they turn into higher level and more serious criminal activity.

According to this theory, there is an evident causal relationship between lack of order and crime.

Failure to prosecute these misdemeanors creates an environment that encourages more disorder, hence negatively affecting public safety. It is believed that, and indeed, research has proven that an ordered environment is conducive for public safety, law and order.

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How the New York Police Department Implemented the Broken Windows Theory In 1985, the author of “Broken Windows”, George L. Kelling was hired by the New York Transit Authority to help with developing policies that would curb small seemingly insignificant crime (Kelling & Coles, 1997). From the mid-1980s to 1990s, the theory was used to clean up New York’s subway system and rid it of litter, loiterers and graffiti. The New York transit Police also adopted a firmer approach to fare evasion and other misdemeanor. Broken windows policing was further enforced in New York City from 1993 when Rudy Giuliani became the mayor. He was a firm believer in the broken windows theory and believed that its enforcement would contribute significantly to improving the quality of life of New York residents. As such, it became a crime to drink or urinate in public, and evade fares. Additionally, graffiti was banned.

As a result of the implementation of this policy, the crime rates dropped significantly. This is an indicator that the theory was effective.

The New York City Police Department was tasked with ensuring that law and order were maintained by all the residents of the city. Under the authority of the then police commissioner, William Bratton, the police were instructed to arrest all cases of petty crime. By focusing on curbing less serious crime, the police force demonstrated that they were serious about enforcing discipline in the city thus preventing major crime from infiltrating. This approach towards crime in New York City was effective, as is evidenced by the fact that at the beginning of the 1990s, there were about 2,000 murders per year. However, by 1997, this number had reduced sharply to 700 murders, and by the early 2000’s it was much lower. Thus, the New York City Police Department implemented the new theory of policing by adopting a tougher stance on all forms of

3 crime, with a particular focus on low level crimes and misdemeanors. This contributed significantly to making the city safer and more habitable.

Prior to the implementation of the Broken Windows theory, the city of New York was rapidly becoming a crime hot-spot (Kelling & Coles, 1997). Drug deals were done in the abandoned apartments, people drunk in public and there was a lot of loitering. All these seemingly minor forms of disorder created an environment that was conducive for more significant crime. These petty crimes when left unchecked would graduate to murder, robbery with violence, theft and rape. There was a lot of fear and concern for public safety among the residents of the city. As a result, the broken windows policing strategy was a much welcome relief from the disorder that had infiltrated the city.

Street Stops Under this policing strategy, street stops became a common and permissible occurrence.

This is where the police had the right to stop an individual and frisk them from drugs or weapons. If the individual was believed to be suspicious, the police also have the authority to detain them temporarily for further interrogation. The rules for the stop and frisk policy are contained in the constitution under the criminal law section 140.50. However, in the last couple of decades, there has been a decline in the number of people frisked for weapons and contraband due to widespread claims of racial profiling in the approach. For instance, in 2016, approximately 90% of the people stopped were Latino or African American. Additionally, despite these two minority groups comprising approximately 53% of the population, they made up roughly 73% of the prison population (Camp, & Heatherton, 2016). In recent years, the number of stops has reduced because of complaints that it is racist and inefficient in reducing

4 crime. Opponents of the practice stated that police used it to harass Latinos and African Americans.

Civil Rights Issues The Broken Windows policy has been met with criticism from different quarters due to its sometimes excessive approach to crime. It has also been criticized for encouraging discriminatory behavior against minority groups. Through this approach, Latinos and AfricanAmericans have been stereotyped as criminals, disorderly and prone to violent behavior. The policy has also been criticized for concentrating on the result, that is, disorder and crime, instead of the causes, which are inequalities in housing, education, and employment opportunities. The Broken Windows approach to policing has also encountered resistance due to its focus on lowincome neighborhoods where social disorder is caused by the systematically entrenched discrimination and oppression (Camp, & Heatherton, 2016).

While it has been effective to a large extent, the Broken Windows policing approach has led to a war against the poor instead of being a war against crime. Critics of the policy opine that the key issues that lead to criminal behavior should be addressed for the strategy to truly be fair.

Civil rights issues arise from the fact that the policy granted the police the authority to apprehend individuals for petty crimes or even for suspicion of committing crimes. The abuse of these powers resulted in racism, authoritarianism, and class discrimination. Just as a broken window signals that there might be petty crime in the area, the abuse of people’s civil rights should also be an indicator that the broken windows policy has been faultily applied. This can be corrected by addressing the root causes of crime.

5 Reference Camp, J.T. & Heatherton, C. (2016). Policing the Planet: Why the Policing Crisis Led to Black Lives Matter. Verso Books.

Kelling, G.L. & Coles, C.M. (1997). Fixing Broken Windows: Restoring Order And Reducing Crime In Our Communities. Simon and Schuster.