Analyzing Theories of Crimnal Justice

Criminal Justice System; Theorist Perspective

Analysis of the Broken Window Theory

The broken window model is a brainchild of Wilson Kelling as he described it in his article way back in 1982. The article capitalizes on supposed essence of disorder such as a broken window in encouraging serious crime. Although there is no direct correlation between disorder and serious crime, it leads to a heightened level of fear that inspires one to withdraw from society. Consequently, the scenario leads to crime because informal social control is then reduced.

The police can intervene in such a scenario effectively. They can focus on less serious crime and disorder in communities that are not known for serious crime and effectively quash incidences of withdrawal and fear by residents. Encouraging informal social control among these communities can enhance the responsibilities of such communities in taking control of events in their neighborhood and forestalling crime.

It is difficult to assess or measure the actual value of the broken window theory in policing. The model has been applied by several security agencies with varying intensity and attention to the detail of Wilson Kelling (1982). One of the most outstanding cases of the application of the theory is in New York City. On the other hand, there are incidences (in some agencies) in which the broken window theory has been closely related to non-tolerant policing. In such cases, disorder has been expressed/regarded as a crime and offenders have been booked or even arrested. According to Kelling, the broken windows approach is more detailed than just zero tolerance policing (1996). It is deduced that the model's effectiveness cannot justifiably be evaluated solely on the basis of number of police arrests without regard to the discretion of the officer. A possible problem of embarking on such evaluation is that some police units may not be applying the model appropriately as they may claim (CEBCP, 2013).

The chosen current event

The current police brutality, especially on black communities, is a strong evidence of the truth in the theory discussed above. In particular, the Eric Garner case poses a strong relevance in this context. He was shot dead by police when they were trying to arrest him for peddling illegal cigarettes. Mr. Garner was irritated by police harassment and concluded that this disturbance was because he was black. He mentioned as much before he was killed by the officer attached to NYPD. Another incident is that of Michael Brown who was recently killed by police in St. Louis even though he was not armed. He was involved in a quarrel with the police (according to the teenager's friends who witnessed) regarding the order to use the sidewalk as opposed to using the main street. The third case is that of the homeless and mentally ill Orange County resident who received brutal beating from the Police even as he called for his father to help. This is clear evidence of police excesses with regard to the broken window theory (Foster, 2015).