The Impact of the Broken Window Theory and How It Directly Impacts the Criminal Justice System Today - Essay Example

Discuss the Impact of the Broken Window Theory and how it directly Impacts the Criminal Justice System Today The criminal justice system refers to a set of agencies and processes of the government that control crime and impose sanctions and penalties on persons that violate the law. Criminal justice system has the following main components: Corrections, police and the courts that are responsible in deterring crime by trying, apprehending, and punishing the offenders (Lilly, Cullen, and Richard 7). Various theories have been developed to explain the criminal justice system as a whole or its various components, and have subsequently impacted on the system. The Broken Window Theory is one of the theories that have impacted the criminal justice system in modern times. This theory was proposed by George Kelling and James Wilson. It suggests that a subset of society or society that seems and appears to be lawless may ultimately breed lawlessness (Kelling and Coles 11). It is a criminological theory of the signaling effect and norm setting of urban vandalism and disorder on additional anti-social behavior and criminal activities. The theory holds that maintaining and monitoring urban environments in a condition that is well ordered can further stop escalation of minor and serious crime (Lilly, Cullen, and Richard 9). This paper will discuss the impact of the Broken Window Theory and how it has directly impacted on the Criminal Justice System in modern times. Since the Broken Window Theory was introduced by James Wilson and George Kelling in 1982, it has been a subject of huge public debate within the public sphere and in the social sciences. As a result, it has been used as a methodology and motivation for various reforms in the criminal justice system (Keizer 1681). In explaining the theory, Wilson and Kelling use the example of a building that has a broken window which remains unrepaired. The theory argues that crime is not caused by broken down neighborhoods, necessarily, but they become magnets for delinquent behavior and crime because of their disorganization. Residents may tend to become slacker in their civility and delinquents and criminals may then be drawn to lawlessness areas. The theory explains that the state of the urban environment may affect crime and delinquency due to the following three factors: signal crime and social signaling; the lack or presence of routine monitoring; and conformity and social norms (Sampson 320). Under this theory, a clean and ordered environment and one which is maintained signals that the area is well-monitored and delinquent and criminal behavior is not tolerated. On the contrary, unmaintained and disordered environment signals that the area is not under monitoring and that anyone can engage in crime with little risk detection (Kelling and Coles 49). As a result of the arguments of Wilson and Kelling on the Broken Windows Theory, there have been impacts on the criminal justice system. The theory has had considerable impact on all law enforcement aspects that touch on the community. The restorative justice and community policing movements can be traced to the Broken Window Theory (Lilly, Cullen, and Richard 19). Partnership with law enforcement officers, community involvement, and the proposal that offenders should reconcile with the community are linked to the visible involvement idea that brings visible results. If it appears that people are caring, then potential criminals will believe that they are caring and will therefore respect their property and rights. Many law enforcements agencies have started to focus on the “broken window” issues in order to protect the peacefulness and civility of neighborhoods (Kelling and Coles 77). Also, several agencies of law enforcement have began to put enhanced focus on victimless or minor crimes such as vandalism, loitering, street prostitution, littering, and drugs. Currently, the defined crimes represent a shift in the resources allocated to police away from crimes that are considered more serious in an effort to prevent numerous serious crimes, or also in a bid to protect particular communities from crime (Keizer 1684). So, how does the Broken Window Theory directly affect the criminal justice system today? This theory has been a success because it hit numerous facets of public policy in more symbiotic and productive ways. It has provided the police with ways of dealing with crime and disorder and has also fueled movements that are geared towards improving business in urban centers (Lilly, Cullen, and Richard 30). Prior to the development of this theory, the police felt helpless because the public became more insistent that something had to be done about the veritable anarchy and squalor that was characterizing many urban areas (Sampson 322). The proposals by Wilson and Kelling in the Broken Window Theory helped to solve this problem by giving a scholarly basis that police could use to justify widening the deviant behaviors category that warrants official intervention. The Broken Windows Theory legitimized an expansion of the police role from the parochial focus on serious crime to a more comprehensive and broader concern with general neighborhood conditions, by posting causal relationship between crime and disorder (Keizer 1683). This theory went a step further by stating that since disorder causes crime, then crime is a police realm and that the police should be actively involved in order maintenance. This theory neatly brought disorder under the police umbrella; this consequently equipped the police with a justification for interjecting when they witness criminal activities or disorderly behaviors (Kelling and Coles 101). The direct impact of the Broken Window Theory on criminal justice system today is evident in various instances. William Bratton, formerly of the New York City Police Department (NYPD; 1994-96) and the New York City Transit Authority (NYTA; 1993-94) applied this theory on the streets of New York City and in the subways (Harcourt and Ludwig 73). As a result, violent crime reduced drastically in the city. Wilson and Kelling credited the drop in violent crime to broken windows policing; according to them, broken windows policing was precisely aimed at reducing street crimes such as murders, muggings, and robberies. Outcomes in the New York City were a conclusive proof of the validity of this theory, which resulted to police officials in other communities to apply it in addressing crime problems in their jurisdictions. In addition, the theory accelerated the Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) which led to the rapid growth of industries and cities (Harcourt and Ludwig 74). This was crucial in addressing the crime problems as it increased wealth of the city dwellers and brought about job opportunities. Broken windows armed the business improvement districts with a defense against charges of intolerance and discrimination. Like the other law enforcement agencies, local city councils and business owners became legitimized to maintain order (Sampson 326). The Broken Windows Theory has also had direct impact on corrections component of the criminal justice system. In particular, this theory has been used in probation; as a probation theory, it maintains that the fundamental product of community supervision is the public safety of the entire community rather than the services that are delivered to those supervised (Lilly, Cullen, and Richard 33). Wilson and Kelling argued that public confidence regarding community supervision has significantly eroded, and that in order to rebuild it, policy makers and administrators should adopt a strategy or approach that redefines the community supervision “customers” ton include all ordinary individuals, victims, offenders, and all citizens (Kelling and Coles 98). They therefore articulated seven principles that can be used to reinvent community supervision: supervision of probationers in the neighborhood rather than in the office; develop partners in the community; public safety should be placed first; cultivate strong leadership; establish initiatives that are performance-based; make provisions for quick response to violations and strong enforcement of probation conditions; and rationally allocate resources (Keizer 1685). Most of the corrections programs have incorporated some, if not all, of these principles. This is evidenced by the implementation of community supervision approach that is grounded in the idea that public safety is the most essential outcome. Besides, community supervision officers have been seen to work in the community towards maintaining a visible law enforcement presence and contributing to public order (Kelling and Coles 81). However, the Broken Windows Theory has been criticized for ignoring most of the actual motivations behind crime. The critics of the theory have argued that while it may account for why some areas experience more delinquency and crime compared to others, it has failed in explaining the underlying reasons behind serious crime (Harcourt 45). Additionally, the critics argue that it has failed to explain the origins of disorder and how the initial seeds of neighborhoods that are broken down come into being. That is to say that it does not explain where the unwanted crimes and people come from- it only explains where they are drawn from. It has also been criticized in respect to how it explains corrections; it does not effectively address the important deficits and needs that impede the desire to change of the offenders (Harcourt 78). In conclusion, it is evidently clear that the Broken Windows Theory has had far-reaching effects in criminology and criminal justice system in general. In particular, it has had direct impact on the law enforcement policy and corrections policy. It created the notion that the law enforcement agencies (in particular the police) could directly control crime by tackling social and physical disorder. This notion caught up quickly with these agencies and greatly helped to solve crime problems in many jurisdictions, a good example being the New York experience of the drastic crime rates after adopting the principles of this theory. While this theory may have some weaknesses as pointed out by its critics, it can be integrated to ultimately produce a law enforcement initiative that will enhance public safety and improve communities. Works Cited Harcourt, Bernard. Illusion of Order: The False Promise of Broken Windows Policing. Harvard University Press, 2001. Print. Harcourt, Bernard and Jens Ludwig. “Broken Windows: New Evidence from New York and Five- City Social Experiment”. University of Chicago Law Review 73, 2006. Keizer, Lindenberg. Spreading of Disorder. Science 322 (5908), 2008: 1681–5. Kelling, George and Coles, Catherine. Fixing Broken Windows: Restoring Order and Reducing Crime in Our Communities. Free Press, 2008. Print. Lilly, Robert, Francis Cullen, and Richard Ball. Criminological theory: Context and Consequences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2007. Print. Sampson, Raudenbush. "Seeing Disorder: Neighborhood Stigma and the Social Construction of "Broken Windows". Social Psychology Quarterly 67 (4), 2004: 319–342. Read More