ABSTRACT
Broken windows' is a cornerstone of right realist or neo-conservative criminology. It attempts to account for why disorder and crime might escalate quickly within a neighbourhood, and suggests what should be done to prevent this. The broken windows perspective has been extremely influential on public policy in relation to crime control, especially as part of a wider 'preventive turn' in criminology that advocates opportunity-reduction strategies of situational crime prevention. Its influence can also be traced directly to issues/legislation relating to zero-tolerance policing, fear of crime and antisocial behaviour. The two key texts that outline the broken windows perspective are the article published by James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling in 1982 in Atlantic Monthly, titled 'Broken Windows', and Fixing Broken Windows: Restoring Order and Reducing Crime in Our Communities, the 1996 book by Kelling and Catherine M. Coles. Both works are written in the persuasive, rhetorical style that is a common feature of conservative US social scientists.
