By refusing to tolerate minor crimes - like vandalism and public drunkenness - a well-policed community can stop petty criminals jumping on the conveyor belt to more serious crimes.
"The Most Effectual Way To Prevent The Greater Crimes Is By Punishing The Smaller, And By Endeavouring To Repress The General Spirit Of Licentiousness, Which Is The Parent Of Every Kind Of Vice."
- William Wilberforce.
"Zero tolerance policing" is one of the main components - perhaps the central component - of progressive conservatism. Rudi Giuliani’s zero tolerance crime policies transformed New York’s crime problems. Described by Time Magazine as ‘The Rotten Apple’ in 1990, New York was redeemed by the time Giuliani completed his mayoralty - overall crime fell by 57% and murder rates dropped by 65%.
The ‘broken windows’ theory
The theory was first outlined by George Kelling and James Q Wilson in 1982. Their theory of ‘broken windows’ was based on the simple idea that tolerance of apparently small infractions of community order would soon lead to greater and more serious infractions. Petty criminals guilty of vandalism or aggressive begging would more likely avoid the conveyor belt to more serious crimes if their behaviour was punished. Policymakers also believed that the persistence of graffiti, public drunkenness or other ‘minor crimes’ left local people feeling insecure.
The simple idea of zero tolerance was pursued by CompStat – a highly sophisticated IT system. New York Mayor Giuliani used CompStat to direct increased police resources to the neighbourhoods where criminality was worst. CompStat allowed New York’s Police Department to monitor criminal activity on a street-by-street basis. Precinct commanders were held responsible for patterns of crime in their area. Local commanders soon found that their success depended on officers getting out of their squad cars and onto the streets where they could build community-based networks of confidence and intelligence.
Civil libertarians have consistently objected to elements of Giuliani’s policies but New York’s poorest residents have been the main supporters of policies that have given their communities back to them. A July 2002 opinion poll for New York’s Citizens Crime Commission showed that the city’s poorest voters were most supportive of the ‘quality of life laws’ that targeted graffiti and aggressive begging.
Ray Mallon: Britain’s Giuliani?
Britain is investing in more neighbourhood policing but has not yet embraced the full suite of policies that would result in New York levels of success. Ray Mallon, Mayor of Middlesborough and former police chief – dubbed ‘Robocop’ – has been Britain’s leading advocate of zero tolerance policing. On the back of increased police numbers Mayor Mallon has delivered significant reductions in crime.
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Posted by: Ging | July 10, 2012 at 11:29 PM