Newman On-Line:
'Broken Windows' zero tolerance to crime in action
Weekly Column by Dr Muriel Newman
At our ACT Conference tomorrow, the architect of ‘zero tolerance’ policing in Britain, former Police Chief Ray Mallon,
will be presenting a keynote address. Ray, now the Mayor of Middlesbrough, will be joining us live via satellite link.
I had the privilege of visiting Mayor Ray a couple of years ago and was extremely impressed by his energy, enthusiasm
and focussed determination to significantly reduce crime in his city. He has long believed that through ‘confident
policing’, peace can be returned to towns and cities throughout Britain, enabling decent, law-abiding citizens to once
again become the rightful owners of their streets - rather than yobbos, criminals and other anti-social delinquents.
Britain, like most western countries - including New Zealand – has experienced an escalation in crime. While crime rates
had historically been low, after the 1970s they began to rise across the board. By the early nineties they had
skyrocketed, and innovative policing strategies began to be advanced.
In particular, William Bratton, the Police Commissioner in New York, and Ray Mallon, the District Chief Inspector of
Police in Hartpool, in the North East of England - on other sides of the world from each other - both developed similar
approaches to fighting crime that delivered unprecedented reductions in offending. Known as “zero tolerance” policing,
their strategies focussed on cracking down on petty crime as the precursor to more serious crime.
Based on the 'Broken Windows' theory of crime, first developed in 1983 by American academics George Kelling and James
Wilson, zero tolerance policing recognised the strong link between disorder and crime. In areas where there are visible
signs of decay, such as litter, broken windows, graffiti, and abandoned housing, crime is able to flourish. Then, as
neighbourhoods become increasingly disorderly, fear of crime rises, forcing 'respectable' members of the community to
leave.
Since preventing the slide into crime was seen to be a far easier option that trying to turn around declining
neighbourhoods, effective policing focussed on pursuing even the most minor misdemeanours with the same vigour as more
serious crimes, in order to create a deterrent effect. Glue sniffing under a bridge, urinating in an alleyway, smashing
streetlights, or abusing passers by, were all regarded as potentially the first step to more serious crime.
As Ray Mallon explained: “Boys and young men don’t go straight from being cheeky to their parents into burglary – any
more than children go straight from primary school into the university”.
Traditional methods of policing had always centred on the notion that the best way to keep crime down was to intervene
early and confidently. That meant letting the teenager know that he had been spotted by the police throwing bottles at
the passing car, informing his parent that he had been in the group that abused the pensioner, and getting him to not
only apologise to the property owners for his graffiti, but to clean it up as well.
But zero tolerance policing didn’t only just focus on minor offending and sub-criminal disorder, it also targeted crimes
such as house burglary that were major contributors to the ‘fear of crime’ in any town.
In any community, the majority of crimes are committed by a small number of serial offenders, like the professional
burglar who may break into four or five houses in a day, and commit tens of thousands of offences every year. If these
hard-core criminals are targeted, then crime drops.
Similarly, if the career criminal thinks there is a good chance that he will be caught and that the sentence will be
tough, then he is far less likely to commit the crime in the first place.
During his first year as Mayor of Middlesbrough, Ray used his experience of zero tolerance policing to focus on reducing
crime and anti-social behaviour. By working in partnership with the Police and other local agencies, his goal of cutting
crime by 15 percent a year, was exceeded.
His vision for the future of his city – his “Raising Hope” project - is based on the concept that providing a clean,
safe environment, in which people can go about their business without fear of crime and anti-social behaviour, is one of
the key pre-requisites of community success. To achieve his vision he has initiated the physical regeneration of the
city’s run-down areas, the development of a transportation infrastructure to meet the needs of his community, and he has
focussed on creating a business-friendly enterprise culture, which welcomes would-be investors.
In the politically correct environment in which we now live, I suspect Ray Mallon’s no-nonsense approach and
common-sense ideas will come across like a breath of fresh air!
If you would like to join me at our conference at Sky City in Auckland to hear Ray Mallon speak, please check out our
website on www.act.org.nz … it would be great to see you!
ENDS