The Broken Window Theory

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ntroduction There will never be a perfect and civilized society. I believe that there are people who must try to find ways to maintain a certain level of order to truly be a civilization. There are many different theories and opinions on how to fight crime and maintain this level of order in society. I believe that one of the most successful theories is The Broken Windows Theory. This theory was developed by two very accomplished scholars and is embraced by law enforcement as a tool in crime fighting. Studies performed before and after the theory was supported by its credibility. This report will familiarize the reader with the concept of the Broken Windows Theory. Case studies of real world application and other reference interviews are…show more content…
After years of being a Boston Police Officer Bratton became Police Commissioner of the NYPD Transit Dept. (Bratton & Knobler, Turnaround, 1989). Crime was at high level in the subway system when he was hired. He was given the job with the anticipation that he would be able to reduce crime and restore confidence in the public’s eye. Bratton's first task was to get a sense of what some of the issues were. He found that the subway system was plagued with disorder such as toll jumping, vandalism, vagrancy, aggressive panhandling, and drunks. There were also issues with juvenile gangs, assaults and robberies. Not only was the public being victimized but so was the city by losing millions of dollars in toll scams. He found that the police were under staffed and ill-equipped to do their job. He realized that he had only four hundred officers working on duty at the time and there were seven hundred entrances into the subway system (Bratton & Knobler, Turnaround, 1989 Pg.147). Bratton had to take the initiative and come up with a plan to give the public positive news and to start a campaign using television, radio and any media outlets to get the community’s trust back. After brain storming with colleagues Bratton decided to use the broken windows theory as his concept (Bratton & Knobler, Turnaround, 1989 Pg.152). The first…show more content…
Yager also referred to a second city project called the McFarland St. neighborhood. He said this neighborhood was very similar to the Vance St. neighborhood. It is an ongoing project and very similar steps have been taken to regain control of this area. The Police Department had discovered the success of using a code enforcement officer in keeping landlords and homeowners in compliance with the appearance of their properties to include keeping the grass cut, no abandoned vehicles and structural integrity of all buildings. He said they are used the Nuisance Abatement Law (Article 1 of G.S. Chapter 19) to keep landlords, tenants and home owners accountable for their properties. The other major difference is the police department has partnered with Habitat for Humanity and has assisted in the building of several houses on vacant lots in this neighborhood. Sgt. Yager said this is still a working project that continues to improve with time and effort (Yager, 2015). At the conclusion of the interview I asked his opinion of what he thought about the theory and if he felt it was a useful guide in crime fighting. He said he felt it has its place in the so called “tool box” of crime fighting. He stated it works best in areas that are just becoming a problem area. Sgt. Yager also said he has seen some areas that continue to be challenging no matter what is employed (Yager,

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