The Broken Windows Theory: Small Signs of Disorder Lead to Big Crime Problems
Visible signs of neglect make people feel like rules don’t matter.
A rundown neighborhood attracts more trouble.
The Broken Windows Theory impacts how cities approach crime prevention.
Visible signs of disorder lead to more serious crimes.
It’s a snowball effect. Small problems, if left unchecked, grow into bigger ones.
You’re walking down a street and see a building with a broken window. No big deal, right? If that window stays broken for weeks, it sends a message that nobody cares about the property. Soon, more windows get broken. Graffiti appears. People start dumping trash in the area.
Signs of disorder make people feel like rules don’t matter. Law-abiding citizens feel unsafe and withdraw from the community. It emboldens those inclined to break the law, making them think they can get away with more serious crimes.
The Broken Windows Theory wasn’t just pulled out of thin air. It has its roots in an experiment conducted by psychologist Philip Zimbardo in 1969.
Zimbardo parked two identical cars in two different neighborhoods. One was in the Bronx, New York (a high-crime area), and another in…
