On the Fixing Broken Windows Theory

The Fixing Broken Windows (FBW) theory trades on this insight about things left broken (note the escalating nature of the anti-social behavior):

"Consider a building with a few broken windows. If the windows are not repaired, the tendency is for vandals to break a few more windows. Eventually, they may even break into the building, and if it's unoccupied, perhaps become squatters or light fires inside.

Or consider a sidewalk. Some litter accumulates. Soon, more litter accumulates. Eventually, people even start leaving bags of trash from take-out restaurants there or breaking into cars." (link)

The FBW theory then goes on to state that if the windows are repaired and and the litter is picked up in an area, then one can expect less acts of vandalism, littering and less escalated crimes in the area. Up until now, apparently, the theory had not been empirically verified by experiment.* That has now changed:

In a series of real-world experiments, people exposed to graffiti, litter and other cues of lawlessness were more likely to commit small crimes, according to a study published today that bolsters the controversial "broken windows" theory of policing.

Dutch researchers tested the psychological underpinnings of the theory and found that signs of social disorder damped people's impulse to act for the good of the community, allowing selfish and greedy instincts to take over. The results appear in the journal Science. (link)

The experiment was the brainchild of a graduate student. The details are fascinating:

Kees Keizer, a graduate student at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, thought psychology and sociology could add to the debate. Human behavior is influenced by three competing instincts: to act in a socially appropriate manner, to do what feels good in the moment and to maximize one's resources. Keizer predicted that when there's less motivation to be socially appropriate, the other two impulses would take over.

To test this, he attached fliers for a fake sportswear store to the handlebars of bicycles parked in a shopping area. With no trash can nearby, shoppers returning to their bikes could either take the fliers with them or litter.

A wall near the bicycles had a sign indicating that graffiti was forbidden. When the wall was indeed graffiti-free, 33% of people left the fliers on the ground or attached them to other bikes. After Keizer painted graffiti on the wall, the percentage of litterers rose to 69%.

Keizer said littering jumped because the socially appropriate instinct -- to deposit the flier in a trash can -- was overtaken by the feel-good instinct to let someone else throw it away.

In other experiments, the presence of four shopping carts strewn about a parking lot in violation of posted signs boosted the percentage of people who littered to 58%, from 30%. The sound of illegal fireworks increased the percentage of litterbugs near a busy train station to 80%, from 52%.

To see whether social disorder would induce citizens to steal, Keizer left an envelope containing 5 euros (about $6.26) hanging conspicuously from a mailbox. When the mailbox was clean, 13% of passersby stole the envelope. When the mailbox was surrounded by trash, the percentage jumped to 25%, and when the mailbox was covered in graffiti, it rose to 27%. (link)

Keizer found it “shocking that the mere presence of litter resulted in a doubling of the number of people stealing." But it is only shocking if one forgets the metapsychological truth upon which the FBW theory is premised: viz., that as primarily social beings, individuals are affected by the environmental consequences of the anti-social behavior of others. After all, we are talking about the real world of individuals, not the quaint two and three century old understanding that individuals are entirely the captains of their own souls, masters of their own fates, and that their behavioral choices stem from a pristine “will” unaffected by external stimuli.

Once one accepts that individuals are primarily social beings, the results of this experiment seems self evident. One of its implications for social policy is self evident as well. Wise communities and governments plan on the basis that social order facilitates our impulse to act for the good of others and ourselves.

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* However a case can be made that it has been verified in practice:

Community policing strategies based on the "broken windows" theory have taken root in cities across the U.S. and around the world since it was proposed in 1982.

Most famously, New York City saw a 50% reduction in crime in the 1990s after then-Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and then-Police Commissioner William J. Bratton -- now head of the Los Angeles Police Department -- cracked down on squeegee-wielding panhandlers and the like. They credited the "broken windows" approach for their success. (link)

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