INC NEWS - FW: "Broken Windows" theory of crime prevention

Fri Jul 29 10:10:53 EDT 2005

  _____  

From: Caleb Southern [mailto:southernc at mindspring.com] 
Sent: Friday, July 29, 2005 9:08 AM
To: 'council at ci.durham.nc.us'; 'commissioners at co.durham.nc.us'
Cc: 'Patrick.Baker at durhamnc.gov'; 'steve.chalmers at durhamnc.gov';
'mruffin at co.durham.nc.us'
Subject: "Broken Windows" theory of crime prevention

Thanks to Ken Gasch for sharing this excellent piece on crime prevention and
the "Broken Windows" theory with PAC2.

Comeback Cities, A Blueprint for Urban Neighborhood Revival by Paul S.
Grogan and Tony Proscio

http://www.hldproductions.com/crime.htm

I witnessed "Broken Windows" in action in New York, and it works. It will
work in Durham as well. 

Below are some excerpts from Ken's reference below, with some additional
commentary.

Caleb Southern

BROKEN WINDOWS

Collaring "petty" offenders suddenly led to a harvest of serious criminals.
One out of ten [New York City subway] fare beaters turned out to be wanted
on a felony warrant, and many others were carrying illegal firearms.

Can you imagine what we would find in Durham if we collared people for
"petty" quality-of-life crimes such as littering, public consumption of
alcohol, and aggressive panhandling? I would bet that at least 1 out of 10
of these offenders would be wanted on a felony warrant in Durham as well. 

Addressing the smaller aspects of crime and disorder is the key to
addressing more serious and violent crime. This is how we as a community can
be proactive, rather than simply reacting to felonies that have already been
committed. This is one way we can benefit from the new program to
fingerprint misdemeanants in Durham County. The same people who are
committing felonies are also disregarding other laws, including littering,
jaywalking, aggressive panhandling, etc.

- Caleb Southern

This condition, which we will term disorder, has a social and physical
dimension. Disorder is evident in the widespread appearance of junk and
trash in neighborhood lots . . . in decaying homes, boarded-up buildings,
the vandalism of public and private property, graffiti, and stripped and
abandoned cars in streets and alleys. . . . What these conditions have in
common is that they signal a breakdown in the social order. . . . Sometimes,
disorder propels people to act - if they are fortunate enough to realize it
is evidence both that their community is in decline, and that it will cause
further trouble in the near future. 

[Disorder and Decline: Crime and the Spiral of Decay in American
Neighborhoods, Wes Skogan]

>From 1993 to 1998, homicides in New York dropped 70 percent, and major
felonies 46 percent, transforming the city.

This dramatic improvement was due to following the principles of the "Broken
Windows" theory of crime prevention. I witnessed this first hand in New York
City, and it can and will work in Durham as well. 

If 40 years of decline in New York City can be turned around in 5 years, we
should be able to fix our crime problems Durham in a year or two - if we had
the political will to do so.

- Caleb Southern

In the purest version of the "Broken Windows" argument, it is the physically
deteriorated environment that licenses antisocial behavior - which then
begets more serious crime.

Logic suggests that the "Broken Windows" theory works both ways. That is, if
physical deterioration leads to crime, physical revitalization may well be
making its own distinct contribution to pushing crime back.

Translation: Mow your yard. Paint your house. Pick up garbage and litter in
your community.

  _____  

From: pac2 at yahoogroups.com [mailto:pac2 at yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Ken
Gasch
Sent: Friday, July 29, 2005 7:21 AM
To: Ginny Skalski
Cc: pac2 at yahoogroups.com; inc-list-request at rtpnet.org
Subject: [pac2] Re: Trashy neighborhoods

Ginny,

The reduction of blight within our inner city neighborhoods is essential to
any crime reduction effort.  I will now offer you an opportunity to read an
excerpt from one of my favorite books. The title is Comeback Cities, A
Blueprint for Urban Neighborhood Revival by Paul S. Grogan and Tony Proscio.

I have scanned this excerpt and placed it on line for a few folks to read:
http://www.hldproductions.com/crime.htm

In general, I find that people do not readily draw this conclusion. I talked
to a Durham man the other day who cannot understand why the house across the
street would never rent and when it finally did, drug dealers moved in.

As we stand there chatting on his front porch, I notice the cars parked in
his muddy front yard. I notice that he has let his grass grow shin high. He
has not attended to some trash that has fallen out of his garbage can.

I think to myself, 'I would not want to live across from this pig-sty.' What
you actually say is completely different. This is a genuinely good man who
has simply not yet drawn this connection in his mind.

"As stewards of our own neighborhoods, we control who moves in." We do not
do this by some covert, subversive means. We do this by making our
neighborhoods presentable and inviting. Criminals feel comfortable in
"trashy" settings. And by being trashy, we actually invite criminals to move
on in.

If you need any more help with your article, please don't hesitate to call.

Sincerely,

Ken Gasch
220-0351

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