Broken Windows Theory Research Paper

Broken windows theory is a belief that the environment has an effect to crime and the anti-social behavior of the neighborhood. If the environment is vandalized or is run down that alone would cause the area to be on that is high in crime and with anti-social behavior. The Broken windows theory has been subject to a lot of scrutiny from the public, many point out that they target poor and minority filled communities. The theory itself states that if an environment is broken down or vandalized there would be a higher rate of crime in that area. This would mean that poor and minority areas would be targeted more by police and impacted more than a neighborhood that is economically better and has a lower percentage of minorities living tin the area. …show more content…
Many police departments throughout the United States have some sort of policing that is based around the broken windows theory. New York is an example of this, when there was an incident that happened recently that created a debate about the broken theory style of policing, the incident that occurred was the Death of Eric Garner in July 17, when he was stopped by the police with the suspicion that he was selling single cigarettes with boxes without tax stamps. Because of this act that Garner committed he was put in a chokehold by the arresting police officers as he died due to his medical conditions and his weight. The windows theory targets these type of individuals because the broken windows theory believed that “police officers should make arrests for panhandling, public drunkenness, loitering, and other minor infractions …if allowed to flourish, they foster an atmosphere of disorder that causes law-abiding citizens to feel fearful” (New York Police). In New York those who are arrested for minor infractions are those who are young black and Hispanic