-
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
- Misery White on Real Life Superheroes
- ylukovsky on Crying Wolf – False Rape Accusations
- ylukovsky on Crying Wolf – False Rape Accusations
- proffessor on Crying Wolf – False Rape Accusations
- Rob McGoldrick on SEC reviewing S&P handling on downgrade
Frequent Topics
- ADHD
- Becker
- Britain
- Broken Windows Theory
- Conrad and Schneider
- control
- crime
- criminals
- criminal surveillance
- criminal youth
- delinquency
- Depression
- Deviance
- deviant behavior
- Deviants
- DNA profiling
- escape
- FBI
- female murderer
- film
- flash mobs
- Graffiti
- justice
- Lombroso
- medicalization of deviance
- Moral Panic
- Outsiders
- Philadelphis
- police
- Poweres that be
- prison
- privacy
- profiling
- racism
- riots
- serial killer
- social construction of illness
- social network
- society
- Stereotyping
- Stigma
- tattoos
- traceable
- Typecasting
- Women
Archives
Categories
Meta
Tag Archives: police
Graffiti Summit and the Broken Windows Theory
The embedded video relates to the class reading “Broken Windows” by Wilson and Kelling. A news anchor woman interviews the Corpus Christi Police Chief about a Graffiti Summit taking place in his town that night. The PC says that graffiti has been happening in bigger, higher profiler areas, churches, etc. He said past graffiti summits in their town have attracted elected officials, citizens, and other law enforcement agencies looking to collaborate with and help the CCPD prevent graffiti. The PC mentions that state representatives proposed new laws to combat graffiti, and that judges have issued harsher penalties for graffiti. The news anchor even comments that the community’s involvement is necessary for this undertaking to be successful. All of this reflects the article’s emphasis on collaboration being important to police maintaining order in a community:
“These rules were defined and enforced in collaboration with the “regulars” on the street…If someone violated them the regulars not only turned to [the police officer] for help but also ridiculed the violator” (Wilson & Kelling, 2).
When the PC said
“we’re not there yet, but we’re definitely taking a bite out of graffiti”
this reminded me of an officer’s description of running out gang members from neighborhoods in the article:
“We kick ass” (Wilson & Kelling, 8).
By pursuing these quality of life issues, not violent crimes, the police do really feel like they are accomplishing something and not wasting their resources.
When the news anchor comments that
“Graffiti leads to other crime.”
the PC says she is right. He says that it not only leads to other crimes such as petty theft, but that it’s an important quality of life issue. This harkens back to the “Safe and Clean Neighborhoods Program” that was done in Newark in the 1970’s, which was
“designed to improve the quality of community life…” (Wilson & Kelling, 1).
The news anchor brings up criminology’s Broken Windows Theory. According to her, the theory says that when a community isn’t taken care of, then people stop caring about the community and commit more crime. The class article says this about the theory:
“Social psychologists and police officers tend to agree that if a window in a building is broken and is left unrepaired, all the rest of the windows will soon be broken… one unrepaired broken window is a signal that no one cares, and so breaking more windows costs nothing” (Wilson & Kelling, 2-3).
The PC affirms the anchor’s statement, and says the Broken Windows Theory was used to deter crime in NYC. The way he says this suggests to me that, because NYC used this measure, that it is a good idea to use it as a model for other police departments.
– Kelly Reznick
Rogue Officers
What makes good police officers turn bad? Some people may not even say that they are bad, some may say that they are just doing there jobs to the full extent. When I read the Voice article on NYPD the main thing that stood out was the rapist who eluded arrest for so long because his case was being mishandled. As far as all the tickets and all of the summons and extra arrests go that’s their not necessarily doing anything illegal, they are just following the rules to the full extent. Its up to the police officer whether he wants to let someone go, write them a ticket, or arrest them and I feel that as citizens we are in no position to pass judgment onto them. In blatant cases of police abuse, like taking bribes or planting evidence, that is obviously wrong and illegal. A lot of people say the cops are just thugs with guns and things of that nature, but my response to them is what is your alternative? What other better and more effective solution do you have for catching murderers and rapist? The fact of the matter is that these people put their lives on the line day in and day for lousy pay and no respect. What do they get in return, accusations and threats, when someone breaks into your house at 3 a.m. I’d like to see who the first person you call is. The clip I provide is by Officer Schoolcraft and his recordings. I don’t condone everything the cops did, but I admit they have a very difficult occupation and need some slack. NYPD Corruption
Dishonest police agendas.
I found this video online which is somewhat of a reiteration of the Village Voice articles we read. The most shocking statistic was that 51% of summonses which were handed out by the NYPD were dismissed. This statistic is plainly ridiculous. Regardless of whether or not Police officers are given quotas, this enormous issuance of tickets is a blatant waste of time. Not only does it waste both officers’ and citizens’ time, but it breeds distrust and resentment toward police in general.
The Voice article also highlights the fact that police from the 81st precinct were forced to basically clear the streets of people. Whether people were given summons, or simply brought to the station and later let go, these wrongfully treated citizens are, again, building resentment for the police force as a whole.
If citizens can’t look to police for stability, then who can they look to? While leaving class, I overheard students discussing their acceptance and trust in relation to Firefighters. I believe this is due to the fact that Firefighters are generally thought of as protectors of the community as opposed to enforcers.
I found this article about the usage of Firefighters to help patrol high crime areas. There are differing points of view concerning this arrangement. It can be said that Firefighters are untrained and ill-equipped to deal with crime prevention. On the other hand, the mere presence of Firefighters can help to prevent crime. Problems are often exacerbated by a Police presence, whereas a Firefighter presence may be advantageous in preventing problems.
