From the Atlantic Magazine, March, 1982, introducing the classic article on the “broken window theory.”
By Paul Goldfinger, M.D., Editor @Blogfinger
We have received an alert from the Neighborhood Watch: Spring is upon us, and the usual petty crimes of theft and vandalism will soon be increasing. Over the last year, Blogfinger has documented the problem of crime in Ocean Grove. Usually we are troubled by “small” events such as bike thefts, stolen lawn and porch items, broken car windows, damage to empty houses, etc. But sometimes there are issues that are more ominous such as muggings in broad daylight and house invasions with the people home or not.
Although Ocean Grove’s crime rates are relatively low compared to some other communities, this hasn’t reassured a lot of our residents. This town has a certain personality: it’s a quaint and historic place where one feels a sense of neighborliness, safety, and old fashioned values. Of course, the reality is that our fantasies can be quickly smashed when bad things happen here.
Over the last year we have documented the concerns of Grovers regarding these matters. Interestingly, some individuals thought that the police and the citizens were being overzealous in their pursuit of these small time crooks, while others thought the opposite. Some readers thought that our articles about endless bike thefts, car break-ins, etc. would give the town a bad name and make people needlessly paranoid. Others felt that some of these felons were victims of the recession, so we needed to have compassion.
All of this reminds me of the “broken window theory” in the field of criminology. This is the idea that small crimes and civil disorder, if unchecked, can lead to bigger crimes and worse anti-social behavior in communities. The plan is that you fix the problems when they are small in order to prevent major crimes from happening later. It is this theory that was used in the 1990’s to help bring order in the New York Transit System by Transit Police Chief Wm. Bratton (1990) and the great work of Mayor Giuliani and his Police Chief Howard Safir (1997). It has shown promise in other, usually urban, places.
Here is a small part of the classic article on this subject by George L. Kelling and James Q. Wilson, in the Atlantic Magazine, March, 1982, entitled “Broken Windows: The police and neighborhood safety.” *
“Social psychologists and police officers tend to agree that if a window in a building is broken and is left unrepaired, all the rest of the windows will soon be broken. This is as true in nice neighborhoods as in rundown ones. Window-breaking does not necessarily occur on a large scale because some areas are inhabited by determined window-breakers whereas others are populated by window-lovers; rather, one unrepaired broken window is a signal that no one cares, and so breaking more windows costs nothing. (It has always been fun.)”
The core of this idea for us is that our community needs to put on a “game face” and make it clear that we will not tolerate litter, pan handling, public disorder, small crimes, graffiti and other antisocial behavior because we don’t want one broken window to result in all the rest being broken.
We need to continue to work with the Neptune Township Police Department to aggressively signal that we want an environment in Ocean Grove where we will not allow small issues to grow into big problems.
Devo, clearly you aren’t from around here. Sorry, but you’ve entered a semi-urban (not suburban) zone. Ocean Grove lies right in the midst of this and just has to deal with it. Yes, guys walk around with shopping carts full of scrap metal. You’ve never seen such a thing. Well, this ain’t Princeton or West Windsor. I sometimes read this blog and think “are these people not from here or something?”
Oldtimer. You want Neptune Police to follow around guys with shopping carts? Even if 20% of the metal is “questionable” metal in the mind of random passersby, the guy is scraping by at the bottom. You want the officer to pick on some measly little guy for your Ocean Grove small town satisfaction? Sorry, it doesn’t work that way. Neptune cops have bigger problems to deal with, and I’m sure they aren’t looking at these guys as criminals, fortunately.
The bikes that are junk picked probably don’t have much value. A usable bike has more money on the black market than it does for scrap metal. Most bikes for sale today are aluminum, which is unfortunate. Steel is only starting to make a comeback in bike frames. If it was an older (pre-1985 or so) steel frame, especially non-chromoly, then it might weigh a lot more and be worth more. People tend to steal attractive, shiny bikes, and those are often aluminum. A funny aspect of bike theft is that it’s often the cheap K-mart cruisers, comfort/hybrid or crappy wannabe mountain bikes that get stolen and not the fancy Italian racing bikes. Only when you get into larger cities does bike theft become more sophisticated.
What I really see going on here is a small segment of people that are worried about another very small segment of people. It’s really disappointing but to be expected. You have to remember that you are not the center of the world, but maybe it’s easy to feel that way in OG. I totally understand. The reality is that you live in a big, diverse area, and sometimes you need to mind your own business and give people their space. Think about where other people are coming from.
I’ve seen people walking down the streets in Neptune too with shopping carts filled with metal objects, including metal planting pots, which I’m betting were stolen. Last summer, I saw a ~20-year-old male walking down 71 by the Burger King with a baby carriage full of metal things. Really, why do the police allow this? At a minimum, anyone with a shopping cart is in possession of stolen property, as I doubt any of them bought one.
Having a scrap metal dealer in town is bad news for all honest people.
Awesome idea to help discourage sales of bikes to scrap yards, Mary Beth.
Today I saw two young adult males crossing and then walking down Corlies Ave. a few blocks east of Rt 35 (they crossed south from Ridge and were walking up Corlies towards OG). One was pushing a large insyitutional-looking laundry hamper (it had wheels) and the other a shopping cart. Both were filled to overflowing with scrap metal. The hamper had two bikes stacked on top of a bunch of other stuff. I can only imagine that they were headed to a scrap metal dealer. Should I have called the police? Probably, but there were others on the street who didn’t give a second glance. Clearly the two males, who were taking their time, felt no risk. I guess this is a normal sight in Neptune.
Where do these folks get shopping carts and institutional hampers? Where do they find all this scrap metal? I have never seen such a sight (people collecting scrap metal walking down a street) in Princeton where I live when I’m not at my house in OG. Wouldn’t all possible scrap metal have already been gleaned? Are scrap metal dealers really businesses that Neptune wants to have (as they seem to encourage folks stealing stuff like bikes and copper)? I think Neptune police should be breathing down the necks of the scrap metal dealers as probably almost everything taken there by individuals (that is, not companies that do renovations, etc.) was not the personal property of the persons taking it there (thus probably stolen or illegitimately “found” somewhere. Mary Beth, I strongly support you making scrap metal dealers much more accountable.
While I was down in Philadelphia taking care of my dad after his cancer surgery, Philadelphia police responded to calls from neighbors regarding a potential pit bull fighting operation. They did find dogs and evidence that they were being trained to fight, and worked with the SPCA to remove the dogs from the house.
When the cops went down into the basement of the house to check for more dogs, they found something else: 60 bikes. Much like some controlled substances, there were clearly more bikes than one could claim for personal use. The occupants of the dog/bike rowhouse must have been a real joy with which to share common walls.
As for the scrap metal aspect of bikes, I do have an opinion letter from the Township Attorney regarding whether scrapyards located in Neptune can be required to register the date of sale, description of the bike frame and photo-ID details of the seller (basically, in treating bike sales to scrapyards as a pawn shop would treat anything sold to them). I need to talk to the Chief and then present it to the Township Committee for discussion.
I realize this blog is used for us to complain, protest , kvetch, praise, or just speak our mind, and worry. However we need to take-a-breath and realize that our “crime” problem is as minor as it is. We can take comfort that the tragic shooting death in Florida will not be duplicated here; our OGCP volunteers are not only unarmed but are firmly instructed that in case a situation develops not to exit their patrol car but instead contact the base to inform the Neptune Police. I luv OG, warts and all.
Unfortunately, crime is an ongoing problem everywhere and throughout our history.
My mother graduated from Neptune High School (the “old” high school that is now the arts center) in 1931.
She and her sister made fun of their grandfather who insisted that doors and windows always be locked to prevent thefts, because they couldn’t believe such things could happen in Ocean Grove.
Such things did happen, and still do, so it is best to do as my great-grandfather did. Lock it up!
It is really upsetting to hear about all this petty crime. I realize that it is only “stuff,” but I bought my house to be able to relax and enjoy my weekends. It is disheartening to have to worry about being violated while away during the week, or while at the beach on the weekends. Of course, I will take all precautions, but no one can guard themselves against having their windows smashed. It saddens me that I now find myself in the market for a security system. I have just bought super strong bike locks. Precautionary measures or downright fear? I don’t like having to live in defensive mode…
In most towns, you can leave a bike in your yard unsecured and it will be there later. In most towns having 70 bikes stolen in a four month period would be a major outrage.
Educating citizens about theft is key. Stop leaving items unsecured, even on your property.
@Oldtimer: The police can work with scrap yards only if those yards cooperate, if Mazza takes scrap, its worth more to pay and then recycle from a buisness side. Most of these bikes aren’t taken for scrap, aluminum isn’t cost worthy, copper is the money maker
Also, our level of petty crime is hardly “high” especially when compared to the other types of crime in Neptune.
The OGCP already needs more volunteers to drive in their patrol cars nightly. A day shift walking around town wearing OGCP shirts and caps would require additional volunteers. It is unrealistic to expect night drivers to also do day walk-abouts.
We already know what sorts of petty crimes to expect this season, e.g., bike thefts, things stolen out of cars, etc. How many bike thefts from last season were actually solved? (maybe 2). The question is: what are we doing now to proactively prepare to reduce these crimes this year. Here I’m talking about doing things like mapping where the crime hot spots were from last season, preparing strategies to thwart crimes in those hot spots, have police visit scrap metal dealers and put them on notice regarding their acceptance of stolen goods, develop sting approaches, etc.
It seems to me that the attitude of the police and citizens here is more around hunkering down and accepting crime as part of the natual order of things. I can tell you from my personal expereince that most towns do not accept a high level of petty crime as “normal.” We need to be aggressive and proactive. The police presence should be assertive and noticable. OG CItizens Patrol should walk around with OGCP t-shirts on so people feel their presence, etc.
Criminals need to fear getting caught, so they will move on to another town where the pickings are easier.
Wilson actually just died a few weeks ago. His obituary is interesting: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/11/opinion/sunday/remembering-james-q-wilson.html
This reminds me of the movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” when Donna Reed and Jimmy Stewart break windows of an abandoned house.
Even in that idyllic town, “good” people did stupid things, but if the windows had been fixed, then they wouldn’t have thrown the rocks.
I pick up the trash that is in front of my house so that others won’t think it is OK to leave their trash there as well.
It pays to be persnickety.