‘Broken Windows’ Theory
James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling suggested that at the local community level anti-social behaviour (or disorder) and crime are usually inextricably linked, in a kind of developmental sequence. So that if a window in a building is broken and is left unrepaired, all the rest of the windows will soon be broken. One unrepaired broken window is a signal that no one cares, and so breaking more windows costs nothing. The property is untended.
Early Stages
Wilson and Kelling suggested that serious street crime develops and grows in areas in which disorderly behaviour begins to go unchecked. Unchecked or unaddressed behaviour leads to the breakdown of community controls. A stable neighbourhood of families, who care for their homes, mind each other’s children, and confidently frown on unwanted intruders or strangers can change, in a few years or even a few months, to an inhospitable and frightening jungle.
The Breakdown of the Community
A piece of property is abandoned, weeds grow up, a window is smashed. Adults stop telling off or confronting rowdy children: the children then become more rowdy. Teenagers gather or congregate in front of shops and refuse to move on. Fights occur. Littering increases. People start drinking openly on the street. Begging starts to appear. Families move out, unattached adults move in. A gang can weaken or destroy a community by standing about in a menacing fashion and speaking abusively to passers-by without breaking the law.
The End of the Neighbourhood
At this point it is not inevitable that serious crime will flourish or violent attacks on people will occur. But many residents will think that crime, especially violent crime, is on the rise, and they will modify their behaviour accordingly. They will use the streets less often, and when on the streets will stay apart from other people, moving with averted eyes, silent lips and hurried steps. “Don’t get involved” becomes the mantra. For some residents, this growing atomisation will matter little, because the neighbourhood is not their “home” but only “the place where they live”. But it will matter greatly to other people, whose lives derive meaning and satisfaction from local attachments. For them the neighbourhood will cease to exist except for a few reliable friends whom they arrange to meet. Such an area is vulnerable to criminal invasion.
A Cycle is Established
A cycle is established of fear - withdrawal - flight. Localities perceived, as areas of disorder will sharply decline economically very quickly when residents and shoppers move elsewhere. Policing itself contributes to this decline when the emphasis is on solving or fighting individual crimes, rather than what should be, and historically was the first principle of policing, namely establishing and maintaining order.
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