The funny thing is that covering the graffiti quickly is what seems to be most effective in reducing re-occurrence. Was the NYPD arresting shop owners who didn’t clean up tagging quickly? If not how does it relate to “broken windows” policing.
According to arrest records, “50% to 70% of all street-level graffiti is created by suburban adolescents” I don’t see how giving tickets to suburban kids reduces inter-city violence. Nor can I find any reliable studies that show that zero tolerance ticketing and arrests is an effective way to reduce graffiti.
It also ignores studies that demonstrated moving people to parts of the city that were more “ordered” did not reduce their tendency to violate the law.
That is ignoring why the enforcement was taking place. The cops were not there because some tax revenue agency was complaining. Increased enforcement was ordered because complaints from local business owners were heard at the highest level. They were not only complaining of lost revenue for their stores due to the black market selling of cigarettes but of the general lawlessness it was causing. For instance it was reported that Garner was involved in breaking up a street fight a short time before. Should those neighborhood business owners be ignored? How is it good for the neighborhood if illegal business dealings flourish while legitimate businesses flounder?
That isn’t even mentioning how blackmarket cigarettes are traditionally mafia related and the multi-million dollar Diblasio lawsuit.
Minor crimes and “quality of life” crimes seem minor until they are happening to you. Should all those complainants be told to suck it up because it’s possible that someone might get hurt while resisting enforcement?
What of all the local companies that are hurt by online retailers?
Should the NYPD not follow around post-office workers and forcibly detain/arrest those who buy from amazon or e-bay without paying the use tax on all orders?
Or is it a special type of poor person of color who requires this form of treatment?
I don’t have hard data, but broken window theory doesn’t require “harshly enforcing the law”. It doesn’t require draconian response to petty misdemeanors. What it requires is that the cops actively go after petty “victimless” and “quality of life” crimes like turnstile hopping, graffiti, public intoxication, prostitution and so on. Often cops would let such minor crimes slide and instead focus their enforcement on major felonies like murder and burglary. So what would happen is that criminals would get emboldened.
Maybe that’s something I don’t really understand about black communities and their relationship with the police. If my neighborhood was full of gangs, pimps, crackheads and other criminals, I would sure as hell want righteous blue fury of the police occupying my streets.