Broken Windows Theory
Definition
The proposition by Wilson and Kelling (1982) that visible signs of physical and social disorder invite further disorder and serious crime by signalling weak social control. Has been used to justify order-maintenance policing strategies in many cities.
- Proposed by
- Wilson and Kelling, 1982
- Core claim
- Visible disorder invites further disorder and crime
- Mechanism
- Signals weak social control
- Application
- Order-maintenance policing strategies
Common questions
What is the main criticism of broken windows theory in practice?+
Critics argue that order-maintenance policing built on the theory has led to disproportionate enforcement against minor infractions in low-income and minority neighbourhoods, and that empirical support for a causal link between disorder and serious crime is weaker than the original theory implied.
How does broken windows theory relate to social disorganisation theory?+
Both connect neighbourhood conditions to crime, but social disorganisation theory explains crime through weakened community institutions and informal social control over time, while broken windows theory focuses more narrowly on visible physical and social disorder as a trigger for further crime.
Related terms
- Left Realism
- A criminological perspective developed by Jock Young, Roger Matthews, and others in the 1980s, arguing that critical criminology had neglected the real...
- Order Maintenance Policing
- A policing strategy that directs officers to address low-level disorder, such as public drinking or fare evasion, on the theory that reducing...
- Right Realism
- A criminology built on the claim that crime results from individual choices made by people with weak self-control or weak informal social...
- Square of Crime
- Left realism's model of four elements that must all be examined together to explain any crime event: the offender, the victim, the...
- Zero Tolerance Policing
- An enforcement-led version of order maintenance policing that treats minor offences with consistent, low-discretion arrest, most closely associated with New York City...
- Collective Efficacy
- A concept developed by Robert Sampson referring to the combination of social cohesion among neighbours and their shared willingness to intervene in...
- Conflict Criminology
- A family of theories holding that criminal law and its enforcement reflect the interests of powerful social groups rather than universal moral...
- Feminist Criminology
- A body of theory and research that critiques the androcentric bias of mainstream criminology, making visible the gendered dimensions of both offending...
- George Kelling
- Criminologist who co-authored the 1982 Atlantic Monthly article that set out broken windows theory with James Q. Wilson.
- James Q. Wilson
- Political scientist who argued, in Thinking About Crime (1975), for near-term situational levers over distant root causes, and co-authored broken windows theory...
- Social Disorganisation
- The condition of a neighbourhood in which social institutions have weakened to the point where they can no longer effectively regulate behaviour...
Explained in these topics
- Left Realism, Right Realism, and Broken Windows TheoryThe claim, set out by James Q. Wilson and George Kelling in 1982, that unrepaired physical and social disorder signals neighbourhood neglect, discourages infor...
- Realist Criminology and Broken Windows Theory (UGC-NET Unit IV)Wilson and Kelling's 1982 argument that unrepaired physical or social disorder signals an absence of informal control and invites more serious offending.
- Social Disorganisation and Critical Criminology