Slow Boring

Share this post

What does "broken windows" policing mean?

www.slowboring.com

What does "broken windows" policing mean?

Nobody agrees — and that’s why we don’t know if it works

Matthew Yglesias
Sep 14, 2023
∙ Paid
163
Share this post

What does "broken windows" policing mean?

www.slowboring.com
577
Share

I like to write about cities. In recent years, this has meant writing a lot about crime and policing debates in which the concept of “broken windows policing” looms large.

On one side of these debates are people who are absolutely convinced that the problem of urban crime has been solved, conceptually, and that the solution is a set of policies called “broken windows policing.” Those on the other side are equally convinced that “broken windows policing” comprises a set of policies whose merits have been decisively refuted by empirical evidence.

I don’t think either side is correct, because I don’t think “broken windows policing” or “broken windows theory” clearly refers to a specific set of policies. There are strong feelings and affective polarization around the general idea of toughness on crime. But going back to the specific original claims of broken windows theory and the various empirical tests that have been proposed, the whole thing is a mess. I think totally ignoring this ter…

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to

Slow Boring
to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2023 Matthew Yglesias
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start WritingGet the app
Substack is the home for great writing