Crime Prevention and Control in Society

Introduction

The broken windows theory focuses on the concept that physical decline in societies, such as abandoned buildings, may contribute to disorder and result in more serious offenses by recommending to criminals that laws are not enforced because the building is old and not taken care of by the community. The theory proposes that tightening the reins on minor crimes depicts that significant crimes cannot be tolerated (Seo & Jeon, 2021). In addition, it proposes that suspects respond to aggressive enforcement by a principle referred to as quality-of-life policing. The essay discusses the findings by describing the virtual observations and answering the following questions.

Virtual Observations

The types of disorders observed in the two blocks are increased cases of arson, burglary, alcohol/drug violations, assault, fraud, motor vehicle theft, and peace disturbance. However, the two blocks are different based on the physical disorder present. S Hope Street has the lowest number of physical disorders, with fewer cases of arson, fraud, motor vehicle theft, fraud disturbing peace, assaults, and drug/alcohol violations. On the contrary, N Los Angeles Street has increased the number of arson, fraud, motor vehicle theft, fraud, disturbing peace, assaults, and drug/alcohol violations cases.

Hypothetically the types of social disorder one might observe in either street block on the virtual walk are high levels of drug dealings, unsafe neighborhoods, depression, anxiety disorders, and panic attacks. Based on the information given on the crime mapping website, there is a difference in the amount of crime encountered between S Hope Street block and N Los Angeles Street. For instance, in the good street block, there were 43 cases of crimes, while in the bad street, the block had 119 cases. However, according to the types of crimes, both blocks have the same sort of crime. The summary of the forms of crime is arson, assault, and burglary, drug/alcohol violations, disturbing the peace, motor vehicle theft, DUI, homicide, fraud, sex crimes, larceny/theft, robbery, vehicle break-in, vandalism, and weapons.

Policing Theories in Crime

Based on the broken window theory, crime differs between the two blocks as follows. A good street block is in a well-maintained, clean neighborhood because a broken window stands out. S Hope Street, if graffiti or window is broken, it is swiftly removed or repaired. Hence, the neighborhood sustains its appearance of care and order. However, N Los Angeles Street has not repaired the damaged window, leading to more vandalism, graffiti, and destruction as residents appear apathetic (Seo & Jeon, 2021). Therefore, the broken window theory resolves the ideas of care against apathy for physical disorders in the neighborhood. The block that repairs the damage and upholds social norms contribute to new members of society adhering to the set standards. It implies that good street block policing entails aggression in pursuit of misdemeanors that distort social norms, such as fraud, arson, assaults, disturbing the peace, motor vehicle theft, and burglary (Berg & Kim, 2019). However, bad Badblock Street seems to be allowing apathy to overtake its pursuit of crimes and social disorders.

Juvenile delinquency theory presumes a relationship exists between a person, delinquent acts, and the environment. The theory aids in offering an understanding of the past, present, and future of crimes. The underlying assumptions are that youths are innocent naturally, and the attitude of the community towards them leads to indulgence in criminal activities. Good Street presents sufficient external social control and has well-internalized social values of its youths, leading to a decline in crimes. Nonetheless, Bad Street Block illustrates juvenile delinquency to reflect on the inadequate internalized social values and external social measures for some young people in society (Shoemaker, 2018). This has led to an escalation in crimes within LA County.

Crime and Disorder Relationship

A disorder could be associated with crime because they have similar root causes. The factors that contribute to disorder also lead to crime. For instance, the structural features of neighborhoods and neighborhood informal social control and values and cohesion influence offenses. The symptoms of a given psychological disorder can directly comprise delinquency or crime, for instance, oppositional defiant disorder or conduct disorder (Corcoran & Wickes, 2021). A significant diagnosis, which has been most typically diagnosed in prisoners, is an antisocial personality disorder. Nevertheless, attention to disorder generally could be a fault; while lightly related, specific actions cannot depict a typical state of disorder. In the bad street block, problem-oriented policing approaches along with quality-of-life policing will help restore order in the block (Seo & Jeon, 2021). Further, targeted police resources versus the highest crime areas may assist in preventing criminal activities in the block.

Conclusion

Despite the rationality of the broken windows theory not being well-known, it may be better to sum up that this theory fails to explain everything. Even though it might be valid, there is a need for other relevant and companion models that are critical to fully illuminate crime. Besides, a more sophisticated model is required to consider several other cogent aspects. However, asking police to concentrate on minor disorder offenses, as demonstrated in the broken windows policy, generates more substantial reductions in crimes than police focusing on violent offenses directly.

References

Berg, N., & Kim, J. (2019). Economics of the broken window theory. Asian Journal of Law and Economics, 10(3), 1-65.

Corcoran, J., & Wickes, R. (2021). Crime and disorder in the suburbs. Crime and Disorder in Community Context, 144-166.

Seo, W., & Jeon, Y. (2021). An empirical study of broken window theory : Focusing on the mediation effects of fear of crime. Korean Security Science Review, 68, 21-58.

Shoemaker, D. J. (2018). Theories of delinquency: An examination of explanations of delinquent behavior. Oxford University Press