Broken Windows Theory - Essay Example

Broken Windows Theory The broken windows theory is a concept established to explain how serious crimes occur after a cycle of activities, from minor issues that are left unattended early in their development. The theorists used the broken window, as a representation of a minute disorder that often needs to be fixed after its detection to avoid more related harm. Typically, assuming a window is broken in a neighbourhood occupied by people, there is the tendency that some people will think the house is abandoned or unmaintained. From that point, some would want to peep inside, others would delight in more damages to the rest of the windows; hence, if a principled individual had passed by it and noticed the difference over time, they will be driven to think that even the street is not safe, due to further deterioration of the property. As a result, some could be forced to seek secure paths off such properties or streets, to separate from the insinuated disorder or furthered crime with those who hang about it. According to Samaha on broken window analysis, not only do the small disorders (broken window) disturb the law abiding society, but link to much more serious crimes (further damage) such as robbery, felony, theft, and assaults, if the small disorders are not corrected (2006, p. 100). Whether the owner of the property is within or around, the extent of the damage in a short period of time could be too expensive and perhaps beyond their desire to repair it, hence generating a reality of abandonment in the society. Therefore, how can the society be sure of maintaining order after diversified damage (broken windows), when order was not restored in small disorders (single broken window)? The broken windows could apply to wrong decisions, poor code, or inacceptable conduct in a society. From the theory, it proves that broken windows could lead to destruction of functional systems, hence affecting community activities and administration functions. However, the broken window concept needs more attention; being a fundamental principle in understanding and solving criminal cases, the police have got to adjust with the changing roles to adopt other functions related to restoring order in societies, relevant to communities’ needs. Restoring and maintaining order is not the task police officers’ alone, but communities too have a responsibility to contribute towards it. The theory brings up associated issues touching on people’s behaviour and fear based on crime and disorder level, which ends up making them to form plausible assumptions on police patrol and crime control. Perception and Reality From the article, the authors bring out the impact the police patrol on foot would have in the society than those on car patrol. Although the police foundation in Washington D.C. disapproved its effect in reducing crime, after 5 years endeavour in the safe and clean neighbourhood program that recommended police officers on foot patrols, some reasonable changes and restoration of order was evident in the on foot police patrol in communities. Those who doubted the program had failed to realise the essence of the walking beats police patrol in the neighbourhoods. With the police foundation, stating that foot patrol had not reduced crime rates is debatable; first of all, because it depends on the type of crime and location of assessment, not to mention the time. The issue here is the ability of police patrol on cars, and those on foot to identify and deter the small disorders (broken window’s’). Of course, many of the officers feel that foot patrol is tiring and difficult to serve the bigger community. But how effective are they in car patrols apart from receiving calls to needed locations and serving the individuals? What about that developing problem within the neighbourhood that has not yet harmed anyone, but pose a danger in future? Arguably, the car patrols are the ones fooling the people in the neighbourhood; the cars are just an indication that they are around and watching from a distance. Unlike them, the foot patrol get to mingle in the society, understand the order acceptable within the neighbourhood and acquire information on cases they need to deal with, to restore equity and order among people. Targeted foot patrol is vital to improve the public confidence through community engagement and problem solving, increasing a feeling of safety and perceptions of crime (hmic.gov.uk, n.d. pp.1-2). This goes with admitting the fact that car patrols are efficient in movement to targeted high crime areas, and hence a faster response to mitigating crime and disorder in such locations. A police citizen encounter as facilitated by officers on foot, gives the people a sense of importance and a better opinion of the officers in their roles. Therefore, the police departments are left to decide whether it would be best to deal with crime after its development, or curb the small disorders as they appear in the communities. Police and Community Function The roles of the police have changed over time, based on the structure of the legal procedures to be relevant to the changing behaviours of the society. Kelling and Wilson mention of change from maintaining order against chief threats, to fighting crimes in the public domain. The crime wave by the 1970s became intense, shifting the focus of police from order maintenance to crime fighting, so as to abate it (Kelling and Wilson, 2011, p.6). As a result, many resources and personnel were directed towards the crime fighting function, which shaped the officers role, adding them another function. Similarly, police activities have heavily been influenced by the rule of the states to stress on law enforcement. This means that the roles of the police in maintaining order has to be the within the stipulated law, governing police relations with those of suspected criminals. The adopted measure for crime prevention by the police came to require active compliance with the law. In the police department, while order maintenance and peace keeping functions came to be treated as residual matters, policing departments placed more emphasis on apprehension of offenders, making arrest and gathering evidence (J. and Jr, 1984, p.84). As a result, the importance of the police officers’ ability to reinforce the informal control mechanism in the community is lost, because some of the activities cannot withstand the legal challenge, since they are outside the speculated law. The law comes as a police guide in their roles, and once a criminal is apprehended, it has to take civil actions not to violate the rights of the individuals. Instead, the guilt or innocence of the victim was left to be verified under the universal standards in the hands of the jury. This meant that many of the informal cases (disorders) handled in the streets and neighbourhood were not found offensive (considering no harm) before the jury just as by the police officers, because universal standards to settle the argument over disorder were lacking. The broken window theory does not provide the basis over such disorders arrest, because a particular rule that seems to make sense in the individual case fails when applied to all cases. According to Kellling and Wilson, arresting a single drunkard (undesirable person) within a community seems unjust, but failing to arrest a score of them could be destructive; hence even without the universal standards, charges against such undesirable behaviour have been supported to provide officers with legal tools to confiscate such acts from the neighbourhoods, when informal methods have failed (2011, p.8). The citizens also have a role to play in safety and order maintenance in the society, rather than criticizing police officers and being held back by their fear over violent attacks by strangers, or disturbance by disorderly persons. Police and citizens should rethink on community policing strategies, to enable partnerships that work collaboratively to improve the quality of community life. For effective community policing, citizens and police officers must have time to interact and develop mutual problem solving policies, which address communities’ priority issues (such as crime, fear of crime, social disorder, and neighbourhood decay) (Gemme, n.d., p.5). The community have the power to regulate their conducts against any forming misconduct, and can place measures to enforce acceptable order within the community via citizens’ patrol, either in community watchmen voluntary work, or by deploying vigilante groups to observe the communities’ behaviour and new entrants. The groups have a short coming though, when compared with police officers who feel attached to responsibility, due to the quality of authority they have to conduct certain tasks, unlike the private guards. Unattended Behaviour Every individual needs protection from crime because it affects the young people as much as it affects the elderly group. The community and police officers need to be alert to detect any danger in any form that may cost the society dearly. In the community level, disorder and crime are perceived as linked activities in their development. Therefore, when people meet individuals with certain disorders, say drunkards, people tend to behave in a particular manner convenient for their safety. For example, people may cross on the other side of the road when they see a gang of teenagers, detect a dangerous spot where young persons are gathered to drink, or fear in case of disorderliness and incivility (Kelling and Wilson, 2011, p.5). The disorders by these young people pose a danger in the community, who feel they further their agenda into crime if not deterred from their mischievous behaviours. Psychologists and police officers tend to agree that further damage could occur if the single broken window was left unrepaired (broken window concept), hence any misconduct that goes unchecked could be tomorrow’s risk of crime. According to Balestra, police strategy should not be to intervene too late when serious crimes have occurred, instead they should also focus on disorderly behaviours, which prevents crime and the cycle of accelerating and perpetuating it (n.d., p.2). Just like abandonment attracts vandalism, so would unattended behaviour in a social setting lead to breakdown of community control, after modification of people’s behaviour. Activities connected with urban and individual moral decay should be curbed early in development, as a way to fix problem that could emerge in future. Basically, the police need to revive the earlier plan of protecting both individuals and the community, to recognize the benefit of order maintenance in communities with repaired windows (fixed broken window). References Balestra, F. F., n.d. New Policing Strategies in the United States: Community and Problem-Oriented Policing. [online]Availableat:[Accessed 27 February 2013]. Gemme, G. J., n.d. The Worcester Police Department Community Policing Initiative. [online] Available at :< http://www.worcesterma.gov/uploads/95/d8/95d84a9843433fb9072f13b11ceb924d/policing-initiative.pdf> [Accessed 27 February 2013]. J., Albert, and Jr, Reiss, 1984. Consequences of Compliance and Deterrence Models of Law Enforcement for the Exercise of Police Discretion. Law and Contemporary Problems [e-journal] 47(4), pp.82-122. Available through duke University website:< http://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3781&context=lcp&sei-redir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.co.ke%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dt%26rct%3Dj%26q%3Dthe%2520shift%2520of%2520police%2520from%2520order-maintenance%2520to%2520law%2520enforcement%26source%3Dweb%26cd%3D7%26cad%3Drja%26ved%3D0CFMQFjAG%26url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fscholarship.law.duke.edu%252Fcgi%252Fviewcontent.cgi%253Farticle%253D3781%2526context%253Dlcp%26ei%3D3mcuUfv3Fuq90QWUz4F4%26usg%3DAFQjCNHlVMnWEY5JU5gFdyT7rgWW4sm71A%26bvm%3Dbv.42965579%2Cd.d2k#search=%22shift%20police%20from%20order-maintenance%20law%20enforcement%22> [Accessed 27 February 2013]. Kelling, G. L., and Wilson, J. Q., 2011. Broken windows: The police and Neighbourhood safety. [online]Availableat:[Accessed 27 February 2013]. Samaha, J., 2006. Criminal Justice. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth | Cengage Learning The Effect of Police Patrol on Crime and Public Perceptions. n.d. [online] Available at :< http://www.hmic.gov.uk/media/what-works-the-effectiveness-of-visible-police-patrol.pdf> [Accessed 27 February 2013]. Read More