Broken Windows Policing: A Link between Crime and Disorder?

Broken windows policing is based on the thesis that increased police attention to petty crimes and order maintenance will have a positive impact on crime prevention. It was first suggested in a 1982 article of the Atlantic Monthly by James Wilson and George Kelling. Inspired by Zimbardo’s field study (1969) that examined if abandoned cars placed in a public space would be vandalized, Wilson and Kelling (1982) linked urban decay to subsequent occurrences of serious crime. They noted that just like ‘a broken window’ signals the lack of care, neighborhood disorder (e.g., graffiti, trash) send the same signal, fostering more serious crime (e.g., murders, robbery). In this situation, they argued, the police can perform a specific role in interrupting this process. If police officials focus on maintaining order and treating minor offenses (e.g., vandalism, littering), they can generate an atmosphere of lawfulness and then prevent serious crime. It gained wider support in the 1990s when it…