The Broken Window Theory

1038 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Sociology poverty and crime

Assignment 9.1

Three theories that can be used to explain the crimes of assault and robbery are broken windows theory, Control theory and relative deprivation.

The definition of the broken windows theory is “a perspective on crime causation that holds that physical deterioration in an area leads to increased concerns for personal safety among area residents and to higher crimes rates in that area” (CI 156). The theory states that maintaining and monitoring urban environments in a well-ordered condition may stop further vandalism and escalation into more serious crime. Broken windows theory can explain assault and robbery because if individuals are in an area that is left to rot and is un-kept they are more likely to commit crime. Assault can be explained in this instance because if there is no law enforcement present or noticeable because the community they live in is un-kept it sends a message to the individuals that they can do what they want without consequences which can include assaulting someone whether for material goods in a robbery or just fighting as in gang wars. When Wilson’s article was released in 1982 it “led to an increases in the use of order maintenance policy and a crack down on quality-of-life offenses, such as panhandling, graffiti, littering, and prostitution, in some of the nation’s cities” (156). Because of this theory “the criminology place employs the concept of defensible space meaning the range of mechanisms real and symbolic barriers, strongly, defined areas of influence, and improved opportunities for surveillance—that combine to bring an environment under the control of its residents. The criminology place holds that location can be as predictive of criminal activity ...

... middle of paper ...

... economic and social gaps that exist between rich and poor who live in close proximity to one another. “According to Blaus, relative deprivation creates feelings of anger, frustration, hostility and social injustice on the part of those who experience it” (160). This theory explains robbery and assault because there is a gap between rich and poor that shows that the people are not equal so it allows for people from each side to target the opposing side in hopes of exploiting them being assault or robbery.
Will -

Your content here is good but entirely too much of it is filled with quotes. For a good academically sound paper you should be able to paraphrase most of your content and should use quotes very sparingly.

These citations are not correct and tell me nothing. They are not proper APA citations and do not have any reference with them. You must work on this.

Show More
Related

  • Transformation of Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    996 Words  | 2 Pages

    2.                         Your conclusion paragraph should be more detailed. Restate in just a few sentences the points that you made in your paper and what conclusions you have drawn from those points.

    Read More

  • Two Perspectives Of Right Realism And Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design

    1520 Words  | 4 Pages

    The broken windows theory, was proposed by James Q. Wilson and George Kelling (1982). This used broken windows to describe disorder within neighbourhoods.Their theory links disorder and unsociable behavior within a community leading to serious crime. Prior to theories such as broken windows, law enforcement and police tended to focus on the serious crime. However, Wilson and Kelling took a different view from this. They saw serious crime as the final result of a chain of events, which emerged from disorder. If we eliminated disorder, then serious crimes would not occur as mentioned by Mckee

    Read More

  • Examples Of Racial Disparity In The Criminal Justice System

    1236 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many people in the world today criticize and objectify specific people, merely by their outward appearance, as more likely to commit crime or other violent acts. A theory well known to criminologists is one devised by criminologists of the Chicago school, scholars whose main area of focus were urban, impoverished areas, and called their findings the Social Disorganization Theory in which it offers an idea as to why crime occurs in urban settings. The theory explains how American society is centered on the economy and individual achievement, otherwise known as “The American Dr...

    Read More

  • Elements of Good and Evil in The Crucible by Arthur Miller

    1083 Words  | 3 Pages

    Your paper could have been stronger if you had used quotes to back up your ideas.

    Read More

  • Sociological Theory: C. Wright Mills

    869 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to the conflict theory, crime is the result of inequality. The conflict theory pulls elements of Marxist, which argues that deviance is the response to inequalities of capitalist system not from factors biology, personality and labels. They believed that crime is the result of unequal power between the working class and the upper class, which hold the privileged position. It is also important to pay attention to race and gender in this perspective, where they are seen as an enduring struggles in society. Giddens, Duneier, Appelbaum and Carr states that “men are more likely than women, for example, to commit crimes; the young are more often than older people.”(173). In society, women are more likely to commit crime that are domestic and men are more to commit nondomestic crime. This result in men having higher rate of crime than women. Furthermore, there is also crime which is committed by the elite power rather than the poor. Crimes such as white collar crime and corporate

    Read More

  • The Broken Windows Theory By James Wilson And George Kelling

    423 Words  | 1 Pages

    The broken windows theory is a theory proposed by James Wilson and George Kelling. This theory uses broken windows as a metaphor for disorder within neighborhoods. Broken windows theory proposes that disorder causes crime and crime causes further disorder which leads to more crime. This theory’s concept is if a window is broken and left shattered, people walking by will assume that no one cares and no is in charge. It states that the little things matter.

    Read More

  • The Broken Window Theory

    2269 Words  | 5 Pages

    In 1982, the political scientist James Q. Wilson and the criminologist George Kelling psychologist, both Americans, published in The Atlantic Monthly in a study that for the first time, established a causal link between disorder and crime. In that study, called The Police and Neighborhood Safety, the authors used the image of broken windows to explain how the disorder and criminality could slowly seep into a community, causing its decline and the consequent drop in quality of life. Wilson and Kelling argued that if a window in a factory or an office was broken and was not repaired immediately, people who pass through there would conclude that no one cared about that locality. In other words, the people would believe that there is no responsible authority for the maintenance of order in that place. a move to mass incarceration or a nationwide clemency policy, a large-scale shift to more targeted policing patterns, etc. ), shifts in the distribution or composition of the population (e.g. immigration trends), disruption of wide-spread illicit drug distribution paths, and events that significantly modify a nation’s perception of its government’s legitimacy”.

    Read More

  • Theory of the Broken Window

    1610 Words  | 4 Pages

    This theory however as some have argued has emerged from social disorganisation theory, which sees the causes of crime as a matter of macro level disadvantage. Macro level disadvantage are the following: low socioeconomic status, ethnic or racial heterogeneity, these things they believe are the reasons for crime due to the knock on effect these factors have on the community network and schools. Consequently, if th...

    Read More

  • Good Theory Vs Bad Theory Essay

    540 Words  | 2 Pages

    The field of criminology has produced multiple theories, each that shaped the perception of how crimes occur in a neighborhood and by viewing these various impressions this can help explain why crimes occur. However, four criminological theories have developed the different perspectives of researchers and outlooks of the field. These approaches have enhanced society by allowing it to analyze crime by establishing an empirical foundation that way to assess which approach is most useful and regulate the difference between a good theory and a bad theory. Every method experiences level of criticisms from either researchers or public policies, however, the focus is only based on four principles that way there can be an assessment to decide which approach is viewed as right or wrong. In order, to determine which approach can be considered a good theory versus a bad theory there needs to be essential elements that give support for each theory. There needs to be criticism, however, with enough empirical evidence that can determine which

    Read More

  • The Internal Conflicts in The Crucible by Arthur Miller

    1056 Words  | 3 Pages

    Overall, your paper was well organized.  You state your points in your thesis statement and you stick to them within your paper.

    Read More

  • Broken Window Theory Essay

    837 Words  | 2 Pages

    For sociology and crime the main thing to look to understand it is through the functionalist theoretical perspective. Crime is a learned behavior and that the surrounding environment does impact a person’s choice in committing a crime. Crime is a major part of how a society functions. With certain societies you have rules that govern what is acceptable to do and what is not either by law, or unspoken rules. (Macionis, 2015,Pages 171-188)

    Read More

  • Broken Windows Theory Essay

    2212 Words  | 5 Pages

    The idea behind the Broken Windows Theory is simple, small things can turn into big problems. When a window gets broken, or litter covers the sidewalk and streets or graffiti covers a wall in an alley it is not a big deal as long as it is cleaned up and attended to promptly by the neighborhood. The problems begin when the broken windows, litter and or graffiti is left alone and more follows it. Once a neighborhood becomes neglected, only more neglect follows it.

    Read More

  • Rational Choice Theory

    1717 Words  | 4 Pages

    ... Overall, I feel that no one theory can explain all crime. No one individual is the same and cannot be grouped into one category. Understanding all theories of crime, along with insight into victimization, will better enable a police department to develop crime prevention strategies. Works Cited Findlaw: Assault/Battery.

    Read More

  • Social Disorganisation Theory And Strain Theory

    1235 Words  | 3 Pages

    Crime exists everywhere. It is exists in our country, in the big cities, the small towns, schools, and even in homes. Crime is defined as “any action that is a violation of law”. These violations may be pending, but in order to at least lower the crime rate, an understanding of why the crimes are committed must first be sought. There are many theories that are able to explain crimes, but three very important ones are rational choice theory, social disorganization theory and strain theory.

    Read More

  • Advantages And Disadvantages Of Criminal Behavior Theory

    1050 Words  | 3 Pages

    Theories of criminal behavior are to have their strengths and weaknesses to their explanations about what they are to mean. A list of criminal behavior theories are; consensus theory, conflict theory, rational choice theory, psychological theories, social theories, learning theories and critical theories. For a better understanding of these theories, they will need to be briefly explained.

    Read More

More about The Broken Window Theory

Open Document