by Ben Hughes

Created on: February 14, 2010   Last Updated: March 06, 2010

The “Broken Windows” theory is based on the idea that disorderly behaviour breeds bad behaviour and fixing it at its basic level can help prevent crime. It concerns the prevention of minor disorder before it can escalate into major crime and promotes the idea of respectable neighbourhoods to help do this. It is therefore both a criminological theory and a sociological (social control) theory.

Linked with a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to crime and disorder, the “Broken Windows” theory  bases its criminological perspective on a conservative attitude to crime and punishment, which links it neatly with a ‘zero tolerance’ approach. This approach inspired policy of police forces in England in the 1990s and, more widely recognised, New York City’s Mayor, Rudi Giuliani, to tackle the city’s high crime rate.

“Broken Windows” was explained in an article which was first published by James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling in the March 1982 edition of The Atlantic Monthly. It is based on the following idea:

‘Consider a building with a few broken windows. If the windows are not repaired, the tendency is for vandals to break a few more windows. Eventually, they may even break into the building, and if it's unoccupied, perhaps become squatters or light fires inside.

Or consider a sidewalk. Some litter accumulates. Soon, more litter accumulates. Eventually, people even start leaving bags of trash from take-out restaurants there or breaking into cars.’

The theory suggests that if small problems are tackled, such as minor graffiti, vandalism, or, as the title of the article suggested, broken windows, then it would stop the escalation into larger problems caused by anti-social behaviour and serious crime. In short, preventing minor infringements of the law will prevent complete eventual complete lawlessness.

In 1969, Stanford psychologist, Philip Zimbardo, reported on some experiments testing the “Broken Window” theory. He arranged to have an automobile without license plates parked with its hood up on a street in the Bronx and a comparable automobile on a street in Palo Alto, California. The car in the Bronx was attacked by "vandals" within ten minutes of its “abandonment.” The first to arrive were a family – father, mother, and young son – who removed the radiator and battery. Within twenty-four hours, virtually everything of value had been removed.

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