The implementation of Broken Windows Theory in city policing is based in valid research that illustrates that if we let minor crimes and disorder go unchecked, the execution of larger crimes is a likely result. However, what constitute minor crimes in our city are not free of bias. Often, instead of trying to keep order with more strict policing, officers end up criminalizing poverty. For example, vandalism and jay walking are both misdemeanors that the average person could easily commit and that the average person could easily avoid. Petty theft and fare evasion, on the other hand, are equally punishable by law, but are often committed by those who cannot afford basic needs like food and (in the city) transportation.
Race and economic status are so closely tied in our society, that the perpetuation of criminalizing poverty in this way is disproportionately putting behind bars African Americans and other minorities. To let policing influenced by Broken Windows Theory continue in this manner will only result in greater interracial tension and also greater tension between minorities and authorities. The role of law enforcement in any city should be to induce safety but today, more often than not, law enforcement is inciting public fear. The failed application of Broken Windows Theory to law enforcement in New York City should be a wake-up call to politicians to start addressing so called “crimes” of survival, like stealing food and turn-style hopping, as part of the larger economic issues they embody.
Ariel Avgi
