What Is The Broken Window Theory?

A 2014 census investigating crime in Detroit, Michigan, revealed that the city had an assault rate of 1342 per 100 000 (Opendatanetwork.com, 2017). This rate is significantly high when compared to another city, such as Brisbane, Australia, where the assault rate in 2014 was 371 per 100 000 (Queensland Police Service, 2016). When interpreting this data using the “Broken Windows” theory, a trend appears. There is a significant presence of graffiti throughout Wyoming Street in Detroit (Appendix 1, 2, 5) as well as obvious dumped rubbish, abandoned cars and derelict buildings (Appendix 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). The “Broken Windows” theory suggests that neighbourhoods where such visible signs of physical disorder are present tend to correlate with the presence
On a superficial level, the high rates of physical disorder and its relationship to social disorder seem to support the “Broken Window” theory’s assumed causal relationship between high rates of crime and disorder, but there are other factors to be taken into consideration. One factor is the high school dropout rate. The US national average of high school dropout rate was 8.1%, but in 2014, the Detroit dropout rate was significantly higher at 18.47% (Statistic Brain, 2017). This reveals that there are social issues for which the “Broken Windows” theory cannot account, due to its focus on disorganized and poorly-maintained physical environments within communities. With respect to the “Collective Efficacy” theory however, higher dropout rates reveal poor community engagement and management. Compared with students who continue their schooling, these dropouts have more unstructured time than those still in school, which often results in higher rates of disorder within a community. Further, adolescents who live in communities where neighbourhood youth organisations are common, experience community violence less frequently than those with unstructured systems. Participation in these group activities appears to deter violent crime within neighbourhoods (Gardner & Brooks-Gunn, 2009). The “Broken Window” theory
When attempting to analyse community disorder and crime, the “Broken Windows” theory and “Collective Efficacy” theory share many common elements, but they differ in the significance each attributes to disorder, and this radically changes the conclusions each draws. The tendency of the “Broken Windows” theory to focus on superficial signs of disorder as an instigator of felonies allows for a quick and simple analysis, but it can, in some cases, mean that other key aspects, such as the interrelationships between people and community expectations are not considered, and improvements in order-maintenance and police presence, while beneficial, are only partial solutions to the problems. The “Theory of Collective Efficacy” however seems more applicable to the suburbs of Detroit since there are not only signs of physical deterioration, but also of social disorder and economic decay which impact everyday life, and contribute to disorder and crime. The theory of “Collective Efficacy” assumes that both crime and disorder are symptoms of a lack of social cohesion, youth engagement in prosocial activities, and school dropout rates. These factors become much more significant predictors of community crime and disorder than graffiti and derelict buildings. The theory of “Collective