What Happened?
Research from Harvard is reexamining the “broken windows” theory that public disorder leads to serious crime in a neighborhood, which has become a cornerstone of modern crime-fighting efforts. The research is part of a larger movement to find innovative strategies to address crime in underserved communities.
The Study
Harvard researchers analyzed more than one million 911 calls as well as over 200,000 311 requests in Boston for a year to identify instances of disorder within the community. The theory behind in the research is that public disorder is not the only indicator of more serious violent crime developing in a neighborhood. Private disorder that occurs within homes – such as domestic violence – may have just as strong a relationship to violent crime rates.
While the study found evidence to support the “broken windows” theory, a stronger correlation was found between public violence preceding public disorder. The most prominent effect came from private conflict – landlord-tenant trouble, restraining orders - leading to increases in public social disorder, guns and public violence.
The results of the study suggest private signs of disorder are just as, if not more, important to preventing crime as public signs of disorder. The researchers commented that greater use of predictive modeling and data analytics may help police departments monitor both public and private disorder to identify potential hot spots of crime and address the risks accordingly.
Policing Innovations
Jersey City was recently named of 14 recipients of the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Innovation Teams grant program designed to fuel collaboration between the public and private sectors to improve services to residents and boost overall efficiency and innovation.
Jersey City was awarded a $2.3 million grant over the next three years to support the creation and implementation of a data-driven innovation team that will focus on:
- Violent crime
- Youth development
- Economic development
The innovation team will rethink the way Jersey City police address and prevent violent crime, as well as increase youth access to resources that may also deter future criminal activity.
In a similar effort to proactively curb violent crimes by supporting at-risk youth, Chicago implemented a summer jobs program for students from low-income, high-crime neighborhoods. The project aimed to connect students to jobs as well as deter teenagers from criminal activity.
The University of Chicago Crime Lab analyzed statistics surrounding the program and found a significant decline in youth violence since the initiative was launched. The researchers found the combination of jobs and social-emotional learning the program provided directly correlated to the 43 percent drop in violent crime arrests in the studied population compared to a control group.
Prior to the summer jobs program, just 9 percent of low-income teens in Illinois were employed during the summer. The program offers eight weeks of part-time summer employment as well as an adult job mentor to help participants keep their jobs. The summer work program was designed to intervene in the lives of youths before the age when the most students drop out of high school. This allowed students to gain skills early, and feel more confident in school and work in the future.
New Police Tactics
Gov1 has kept a close eye on policing strategies that focus on community development to curb violent crimes.