Re:Tokyo’s trash-collecting samurai takes a fun, zany approa...
by autoexec on Wednesday May 24, 2023 @07:52PM
(#36065458)
The flaw with broken windows theory was that it was used to justify excessive and abusive police actions. Cleaning up trash, turning vacant lots into parks and pleasant spaces, keeping public areas well maintained, and generally making it look like people give a shit about where they live really does make a huge difference. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ02VLZ_Ey0
Re:Tokyo’s trash-collecting samurai takes a fun, zany approa...
by throwway120385 on Wednesday May 24, 2023 @08:01PM
(#36065533)
Another thing the police can do is try to solve problems beyond stopping lawbreakers. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_policing. These things really do matter.
I'm not trying to argue against the premise above that seeing litter makes people more likely to litter; in fact, I agree with it. Humans are monkey-see monkey-do creatures. The problem is that "monkey sees broken window, monkey does murder" is not how this works. It's a weirdly authoritarian way of thinking that suggests that criminality is not only objective, but a tidy spectrum.