broken windows theory

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broken windows theory

A theory in criminology supported by various experiments regarding the norm-setting and signalling effects of urban chaos (e.g., broken windows, disrepair of buildings, poorly groomed parks, etc.) and vandalism on further crime and anti-social behaviour.

While interpretations of the data differ according to the author, the experiments suggest that correction of small problems—which, if left in disrepair, signal an indifference to the community by the powers of authority—prevents that negative message from extending to an entire building, institution or section of a community.

References in periodicals archive ?

The book outlines seven social constructions of community that have shaped the development of criminological theory related to communities and crime: social disorganization theory, the systems model, the disadvantage model of William Julius Wilson, criminal culture, the broken windows theory of James Q.

Communities and Crime: An Enduring American Challenge

On average, trauma-care doctors or their staff members were disrupted once every two minutes, Cohen reports in her article, Using Broken Windows Theory as the Backdrop for a Proactive Approach to Threat Identification in Health Care.

United States : Closing Threat Windows

The Broken Windows Theory has been effectively employed in some developed societies by technocrats.

A democracy of intellectuals

WORCESTER -- There's the broken windows theory, and then there's 142 Eastern Ave.

Cleanup demanded at three-decker; Protestors rally, blame bank foreclosure

Lovingly decorated in striped wallpaper, with shelves and a rail for clothes, it pays homage to the broken windows theory (i.

Thinking inside the box

I argue here that order-maintenance policing and the Broken Windows theory it was based on should be viewed as an innovative, neoliberal approach to policing.

A punitive bind: policing, poverty, and neoliberalism in New York City

The "quality of life" approach and "zero tolerance" style policing employed by Giuliani and Bratton derive from the Broken Windows Theory.

BROKEN BRITA AIN LOOKS TO BRATTON; Supercop has US-style 'zero tolerance' sol lution for UK criminals who have no respect for police authority

Chief Insp Offside said: "The broken windows theory is simply this, if you have a broken window it gives you a visual idea that crime is more likely to occur in this area.

Lawmen are cleaning up your town... iterally!

In essence, the broken windows theory tells us that crime and disorder problems tend to escalate sharply in areas where people disregard small crimes.

Guns and gangs: a deadly duo: two new books have different takes on a worrisome Canadian trend

Bratton has used the broken windows theory to significantly reduce more serious crimes in cities by enforcing laws for petty crimes and public nuisances, such as urinating in public or throwing bottles in the street.

LETTERS IN THE EDITOR'S MAILBAG

1) In this paper I argue that this backlash focuses too narrowly on the broken windows theory in its assessments of order maintenance policing, and I develop and apply alternative methods of analysis that focus more directly on the intrinsic merits of efforts to reduce disorder by using ethnographic research and normative analysis.

Order maintenance reconsidered: moving beyond strong causal reasoning

There is an urgent need to reconcile two very useful public safety and social justice paradigms--the broken windows theory and the what works principle.