Broken Window Theory

The Original Broken Window Theory was first coined by Criminologists James Wilson and George Kelling. They described the phenomenon whereby an abandoned warehouse with no broken windows is mostly left alone, but as soon as one window is broken, it acts as an open invitation to passers-by that it’s open-session for throwing rocks.

They supported the theory further by believing that the likelihood of serous crime being committed increases dramatically as neglect becomes visible. The researchers believed there was a direct link between vandalism, street violence and the general decline of society.

The part of this Theory that I find interesting is not that it would lead to the general decline of society, but that when seeing one broken window not repaired it would lead to breaking more windows.

This Theory could also be compared to parking outside a bar on the pavement. You know you are not allowed to park there, but as soon as there are other cars parked you park there as well.

I also believed last years Xenophobic Attacks can be based on this Theory in that as soon as it happened in Gauteng province it spread to other parts of the country. The guilty parties thinking it had become acceptable to behave in such an inhumane manner.

I read about the Broken Window Theory a few years ago. It immediately caught my attention as I could pin point relevant activities and instances where there was acted in such a way of supporting the theory.

At that time I lived in Simonsberg Residence at Stellenbosch University. Fellow students would often break down doors and other property. There was a culture that existed among some guys of getting drunk and breaking down doors (one example). Not many guys did this, but it happened quite often when compared to other Male Residences and the history record of Simonsberg.

I was guilty as well when I once set fire to a non permanent structure (a culprit of this theory). I received punishment and learned my lesson, but the culture of it being “accepted” to break property and be inconsiderate by making a noise when coming back from town remained active.

At a House Meeting the topic of disrespect towards our property was raised and I mentioned the relevance of the Broken Window Theory to the others. I said that a culture had occurred where it became acceptable to disrespect the property of Simonsberg and happened more often. If it did not stop, stronger measurements would need to be put in place to stamp down authority to ensure respect for property.

This would in turn be a set back for Simonsberg as the residence is known to have a laid back attitude but at the same time have the presence of a strong party culture.

I am sure that almost all residences that have more than 100 people living there experience some form of misbehavior every now and then. Getting drunk and causing trouble often goes hand in hand and I’ve been guilty of this ever so often. Causing damage to the property and people you live with and respect is a more serious offense. When this behavior becomes more frequent it could set the new norm therefore supporting some of the findings made by the Broken Window Theory.

It has been almost 2 years since I have left Simonsberg and I don’t know if people still run down doors that often. The misbehavior never escalated out of control as there were always structures in place to prevent this. I just found Simonsberg to be an interesting comparison for some of the Theories findings. I had an awesome stay there even though I sometimes had to take a piss without a door.

In other research Philip Zimbardo, a psychologist, tested the broken window theory with some experiments. He arranged that a car without a license plate be parked in a Bronx neighborhood and one comparable car be parked in Palo Alto, California. The car in the Bronx was destroyed within ten minutes, while the car in Palo Alto was left untouched for more than a week. After Zimbado smashed the car in Palo Alto, passersby started to vandalize the car. In both cases, once the car was damaged and looked abandoned, destruction, vandalism, and even theft soon followed. These signs of neighborhood deterioration or disorder, such as broken windows, can lead to the breakdown of social controls.

I am not too interested in the Theories findings in the decline of society, but I am rather on the look out where I can see people acting in such a way of supporting some of the findings made.

Like when you drive past a wall where there had never been Graffiti and as soon as one person ‘tags’ the wall another one follows until the wall is full of Graffiti. Or when you visit a beautiful tree and some person engraved his initials on the tree and the next time you visit more people damaged the tree.

I recently went to the Drakensberg and found these graffiti images next to the road. Maybe I should have added my name, but this is a good example of the Broken Window Theory. I hope the town’s social controls have not broken down. At least their spray-paint sales increased.