In the 1990s then mayor of New York City Rudy Giuliani pushed the broken windows theory of crime control and made changes to the police departments accordingly. However, David Dinkin, who was mayor before Giuliani, was truly the one who began this method of policing. He hired 8,000 new officers and a new police commissioner. (Business Insider) While it is true that New York’s crime rates have dropped in the past few decades, the reasons behind this are unclear. Broken windows methods also raise issues of racial profiling and civil liberties. Another issue raised is, in the push for increased arrests and summonses for minor crimes, what really constitutes a crime? There have been instances of arrests for things that are not traditionally considered
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The theory has instead resulted in what critics say is aggressive over-policing of minority communities” (PBS) Broken windows policing has raised many important civil rights issues, not just those of racism. To begin with, as FRONTLINE observes, most of this type of policing focuses on minority communities, as these tend to house lower income families and be in a greater state of disrepair than affluent white communities. Some people fear these are examples of racial discrimination, not examples of police work, and this fear may be justified. WNYC spoke with teenagers from different neighbourhoods and found that in a high crime area, some teens as young as 14 had been stopped by police as many as seven times. In contrast, at an elite prep school comprised mostly of whites and Asians, it is difficult to find even one of the 3,300 students who has been stopped, and they are convinced it is because of their race. One teen is quoted as saying “We don’t look suspicious. We don’t look like scary criminals or terrorists, or whatever. We’re very unthreatening people. We’re a bunch of, to be honest, skinny white kids.” (WNYC) Some people are so fed up with this perceived racism that they even believe that minor offenses should no longer be enforced, or even criminalized. …show more content…
There are many opposing viewpoints; some point to the fact that crime rates were reduced under David Dinkins, the mayor before Giuliani, who hired 8,000 new officers and a new chief of police. (business insider) Some point to the higher employment rate or to the increased arrest rate. There is in fact now a push to end broken windows policing ((cite)). However, many point to the drop in crime as proof that broken windows is working. Kelling, one of the originators of this method, has said that broken windows was meant as a tactic, one of many tools to be used in conjunction, and that immediate arrests or court summonses were not his intention. In an interview with FRONTLINE, a PBS documentary series: “’So yeah,’ he said. “There’s been a lot of things done in the name of Broken Windows that I regret.”’ (PBS) Although its true effect on crime may never be known, broken windows theory may have had a large effect on New York City’s crime rate, but it has also infringed upon the civil liberties of many American
The theory has instead resulted in what critics say is aggressive over-policing of minority communities” (PBS) Broken windows policing has raised many important civil rights issues, not just those of racism. To begin with, as FRONTLINE observes, most of this type of policing focuses on minority communities, as these tend to house lower income families and be in a greater state of disrepair than affluent white communities. Some people fear these are examples of racial discrimination, not examples of police work, and this fear may be justified. WNYC spoke with teenagers from different neighbourhoods and found that in a high crime area, some teens as young as 14 had been stopped by police as many as seven times. In contrast, at an elite prep school comprised mostly of whites and Asians, it is difficult to find even one of the 3,300 students who has been stopped, and they are convinced it is because of their race. One teen is quoted as saying “We don’t look suspicious. We don’t look like scary criminals or terrorists, or whatever. We’re very unthreatening people. We’re a bunch of, to be honest, skinny white kids.” (WNYC) Some people are so fed up with this perceived racism that they even believe that minor offenses should no longer be enforced, or even criminalized. …show more content…
There are many opposing viewpoints; some point to the fact that crime rates were reduced under David Dinkins, the mayor before Giuliani, who hired 8,000 new officers and a new chief of police. (business insider) Some point to the higher employment rate or to the increased arrest rate. There is in fact now a push to end broken windows policing ((cite)). However, many point to the drop in crime as proof that broken windows is working. Kelling, one of the originators of this method, has said that broken windows was meant as a tactic, one of many tools to be used in conjunction, and that immediate arrests or court summonses were not his intention. In an interview with FRONTLINE, a PBS documentary series: “’So yeah,’ he said. “There’s been a lot of things done in the name of Broken Windows that I regret.”’ (PBS) Although its true effect on crime may never be known, broken windows theory may have had a large effect on New York City’s crime rate, but it has also infringed upon the civil liberties of many American