9.4.6: Broken Windows Theory and Zero Tolerance Policing

Broken Windows Theory

A crime theory advanced by Wilson and Kelling in the 1980s argued that the appearance of neighborhoods was another factor in the pattern of crime in cities. This idea, known as Broken Windows Theory, suggests that visual indicators of disorder on the landscape (e.g., trash, graffiti, vandalism) signal to passers-by that there is a low level of social control and community investment in an area. In other words, where visual disorder is evident, people assume that behavioral disorder is also acceptable. At the very least, visual disorder is a signal to would-be criminals that even if residents do not approve of criminal behaviors, there is likely to be little consequence for those who commit crimes. On the other hand, in places where it’s obvious that people are caring for their windows, lawns, walls, streets, and sidewalks, criminals will surmise that residents actively monitor the behavior of others, and are likely to act against those who violate the social norms associated with well-kept locations.

Implications of this theory suggest that police and residents should vigilantly guard against visual disorder. Windows that are broken should be fixed immediately. Graffiti should be painted over immediately, trash should be removed quickly, and repairs to buildings should be made as quickly as possible. Lawns should be mowed and kept tidy, etc.

Zero Tolerance Policing

Many police departments across the United States embraced the principles of Broken Windows Theory in the 1990s and attempted to apply the logic to a crime prevention strategy known as Zero- Tolerance Policing, a misapplication of Broken Windows Theory that has generated intense controversy. Zero Tolerance Policing incorrectly assumed that disorderly behaviors by citizens had the same effect on crime as visual disorder on the landscape. By assuming that allowing small transgressions of the social order and/or petty crimes to go unpunished signaled to citizens that serious crime must also be OK, police departments embracing this thinking began cracking down on all sorts of small crimes. The idea behind Zero Tolerance Policing is that by arresting people for small crimes (graffiti, petty theft, failing to pay subway fares, etc.) people will not engage in major crimes. Zero-Tolerance Policing policies give officers little discretion in the sorts of crimes they actively pursue. Every little crime must be stopped. Arrests for petty crimes must be made. In New York City, Zero Tolerance Policing evolved into a strategy known as Stop and Frisk. Under this policy, the number of times New York City cops stopped and questioned individuals on the street quadrupled from less than 100,000 in 2002 to over almost 700,000 in 2012.

Figure Chilicthe, OH- town, after witnessing a spike in opioid related crime, adopted a stop and frisk policy like New York City’s.

Black and Latinos were disproportionately targeted for police stops and interrogations,leading to protests and lawsuits accusing police of illegal racial profiling. The Black Lives Matter movement is in some ways a reaction to the misapplication of Broken Windows Theory. Advocates of Stop and Frisk policies have pointed to the dramatic reduction in crime in New York City since the adoption of Zero-Tolerance Policing there. Critics counter-claim that other cities, including most that do not use zero-tolerance policing, have experienced similar dramatic reductions in crime rates. Other research suggests that attending to visual blight in neighborhoods, such as graffiti, garbage, broken streetlights, etc., resulted in a similarly positive reduction of crime rates, without widespread complaints from communities of color about police harassment.

Figure New York, NY- Protests march to protest “ stop and frisk” policing. People of color view the strategy as racial profiling.

In 2020, after what appeared to be some improvement in relations between police and communities of color, widespread protest erupted once again in the wake of a series of high-profile tragedies involving police and black citizens in the US. Unlike earlier protests that were largely confined to major cities with large minority populations, the 2020 spring protests were staged in small towns, white suburbs and even spread to Europe, where protestors expressed solidarity with both American people of color and European minority populations that have in recent years suffered increased racism, anti-immigrant hostility, and xenophobia. Calls for significant changes in the American criminal justice and policing policies seemed to gather momentum, under the unfortunate slogan “Defund the Police”.

Figure Ottawa, Canada: Protestors call for a reconsideration of policing policies and how police departments are funded.