Abstract
The broken windows effect refers to the hypothesis that there is a positive effect of urban disorder on the incidence of more serious crimes, where the term “broken windows” represents a range of disorders within communities. The hypothesis has been the subject of an intensive academic debate and has had an important effect on law enforcement in the USA, where it increased the focus on community policing and zero tolerance. This essay reviews the evidence for the existence of the broken windows effect and the effectiveness of the associated policing strategies.
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van der Weele, J.J., Flynn, M.P., van der Wolk, R.J. (2019). Broken Window Effect. In: Marciano, A., Ramello, G.B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Law and Economics. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7753-2_624
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7753-2_624
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