Community Policing and the Broken

Community Policing and the "Broken Windows Reality" In this essay, the author will discuss whether or not community policing is rhetoric or reality and whether the use of aggressive law enforcement strategies and tactics further the goals of community policing philosophies. In addition, they will discuss whether these are conflicting roles for police. Behind these are the concepts of the law enforcement philosophy behind the "broken windows" approach.

This approach has been effective in making urban life safer for central-city residents but not for the reasons that have been widely accepted by the public. It was not the police foot patrols that did the job as much as the community wide policing that they inspired that did the job. The police presence created the sense of community and allowed the central urban areas to be reclaimed. Ironically, this was not possible with the motor patrols.

Only when the community saw the law enforcers walking were they inspired to pull together and take back the streets. First we must look in more detail at exactly what the theory is behind broken windows theory. It is a criminological theory of norm setting and signaling as effects of urban disorder and vandalism upon additional crime and anti-social behaviors. In other words the indirect surrounding factors that foster crime and hinder community involvement are emphasized.

The theory maintains that monitoring and maintaining urban environments in a well-ordered condition will prevent further vandalism and disorder and by logical extension an escalation into more serious crimes. This theory was introduced into the most recent discussion in a 1982 article in the Atlantic magazine by social scientists James Q. Wilson and George L. Killing. Since then it has been the subject of great debate both within the social sciences as well as in the public arena.

The theory has been used as the basis for several reforms in criminal policy, including the reemphasis upon police foot patrols of neighborhoods and of community policing. The broken windows theory is supported by several empirical studies. At the same time it has also been subjected to a huge amount of criticism from sociologists and nonsociologists alike. In Fixing Broken Windows: Restoring Order and Reducing Crime in Our Communities George L. Kelling and co-author Catharine Cole expand upon the original article develop it in much greater detail.

They discuss the theory in relation to crime and strategies that contain or eliminate crime from neighborhoods in urban centers and to explore the community aspects of the problem. A successful strategy for preventing vandalism is therefore to fix the problems when they are small and correctable. If the community repairs the broken windows within a short time vandals are less likely to break more windows or do further damage. Clean up the sidewalk every day, and.