The Broken Windows Theory By James Wilson And George Kelling

The broken windows theory is a theory proposed by James Wilson and George Kelling. This theory uses broken windows as a metaphor for disorder within neighborhoods. Broken windows theory proposes that disorder causes crime and crime causes further disorder which leads to more crime. This theory’s concept is if a window is broken and left shattered, people walking by will assume that no one cares and no is in charge. It states that the little things matter.
The two types of disorder are physical disorder and social disorder. Physical disorder is represented by abandoned buildings and vehicles, broken windows, vandalism, and empty lots filled with garbage. Social disorder is represented by rowdy neighbors, gangs, drug dealers, and conmen. Often

times the line between disorder and crime are blurred. This theory changes quickly and with slight expense by merely changing the police crime-control strategy.
Police officers generally focus on serious crimes such as rape, murder, and robbery. This causes a problem because smaller crimes lead into bigger crimes. It is easy to attack disorder than it is to attack social ills as poverty and insufficient education. If police officers focused on proactive policing, they would be able to help fix the neighborhood. In order to that, the officers must ask the community what they could do to help.
One of this theory’s criticism is that there is little to no evidence linking disorder to crime. To validate this theory, it must be proven that disorder causes fear, fear causes a breakdown of social controls, and this breakdown causes crime. Lastly, crime must be shown to increase levels of disorder. The strongest experimental evidence for the broken windows theory came from political scientist Wesley Skogan. He found that there were certain types of social and physical disorder that were related to certain kinds of serious crime. In reviewing Skogan’s research, political theorist Bernard Harcourt discovered that the link between neighborhood disorder disappeared when poverty, neighborhood stability, and race were statistically controlled. He then criticized the broken windows theory for fostering zero-tolerance policies that are prejudicial against underprivileged neighborhoods.
Later, criminal justice scholar Ralph Taylor found that there was no distinct pattern of relationships between crime and disorder when he attempted to link serious crime with disorder. Instead he found that some specific disorderly acts were related to specific crimes. He determined that attention to disorder in general might be a mistake. He stated that specific problems require specific solutions. His findings provided more support for problem-oriented policing strategies than it did for broken windows theory.