Small Mistakes Big Consequences; rules carry the same weight

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From Herald de Paris

Broken windows, broken business.

From Herald de Paris  by Michael Levine

It is not just about broken windows or structures that are in disrepair.  It is about uniform enforcement of rules processes, big or small across the board, in  a or company. In the disicplinary process, small items are rigorously enforced:  sitting, id, coming to class.  To make sure that nothing gets big.  When there is laxity at any quarter, laxity, and disorder grows.

The broken window concept was first discovered in the l970s by foot patrols in Newark New Jersey.  The patrolman whom Kelling called Kelly enforced informal rules, and everybody, even the citizens were expected to do this.  The presence of graffiti and broken windows indicated that the authorities were not just lax but unwilling  to enforce laws to assert who is in charge.   In 1990, Mayor Gugliani and NYPD siege on graffiti, fare jumping,  squeege wielding, were not simply campaign on annoyance but a declaration of war on disorder, and further infraction would mean harsher penalties, and that the authorities, not the vandals were in charge




By Michael Levine
LOS ANGELES (Herald de Paris) – The Broken Windows theory was such a revolutionary, seminal concept in criminal justice that, when published in 1982, was considered a complete and total reversal of everything that had come before it. The notion that perception was as important in controlling crime as statistics, that permitting “small” crimes slide by sending a signal not only that the criminals were in charge but the police were either unwilling or unable to stop them, was laughed at, ridiculed, considered absurd or “radical.”
It wasn’t until the theory was put into practice in the 1990s on the world’s largest stage, in the city of New York, that its seeming simplicity was shown to be genius. Between Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Police Commissioner William Bratton, the commitment to fixing New York’s broken windows- graffiti, fare jumping, squeegee wielding, and the like- might have sounded like an assault on an insignificant annoyance, but it was actually a call to arms, a declaration of war on crime, that proved to be the salvation of a city in crisis. In showing the world that New York City would not tolerate any infraction, Giuliani and Bratton were making the larger point that serious lawbreakers would be facing much harsher penalties. The good guys would be in charge here.
It is a distinction between “law” and “order,” one that is important, because it defines what the broken windows theory means and how it will apply to the business world. To adhere to the law, one simply manages to live without violating the set code. Simple enough. But to maintain order in a city, country, or company, the goal must be to have everyone follow the same rules and to make sure that each rule carries the same weight.
To have a rule that says “Thou shalt not murder” and one that says “Don’t cross the street against the light” seems like something approaching a contradiction- it sounds like the two infractions shouldn’t even be mentioned in the same sentence. But both are rules, both are laws as set up by society. If it is generally accepted that we can violate one, isn’t it logical that we could violate the other without any additional fear of punishment?
Rules don’t have to be universal, either; they can vary from neighborhood to neighborhood, as the authors of “Broken Windows” discovered when the Newark, New Jersey, police made sure more officers on foot patrol were dispatched as an experiment in the 1970s. In one neighborhood, the foot-patrol office, whom Wilson and Kelling called Kelly, was careful to enforce the informal, unwritten rules that were set up in that section of the city:
“Drunks and addicts could sit on the stoops, but could not lie down. People could drink on side streets, but not at the main intersection. Bottles had to be in paper bags. Talking to, bothering, or begging from people waiting at the bus stop was strictly forbidden. If a dispute erupted between a businessman and a customer, the businessman was assumed to be right, especially if the customer was a stranger. If a stranger loitered, Kelly would ask him if he had any means of support and what his business was; if he gave unsatisfactory answers, he was sent on his way. Persons who broke the informal rules, especially those who bothered people waiting at bus stops, were arrested for vagrancy. Noisy teenagers were told to keep quiet.”
Wilson and Kelling noted that “these rules were defined and enforced in collaboration with the ‘regulars’ on the street. Another neighborhood might have different rules, but these, everybody understood, were the rules for this neighborhood.”
The rules in and of themselves were not exactly revolutionary, nor were they especially strict. There was no “no tolerance” policy for addicts or alcoholics- they were simply asked to stay in certain areas and to not do certain things in public places. But the rules, as stated, were expected to be enforced, every one.
The same is true in the larger and more dramatic experiment that took place in New York City. When Giuliani and Bratton chose to crack down on graffiti artists, squeegee men, and fare jumpers (those who leap over turnstiles to gain free access to the subway system), they were making the statement that some things were tolerated before would no longer be accepted.
It was a calculated expression of control that was meant to make a statement not only to those who would spray-paint subway cars or jump over turnstiles- it was also meant (and, it could be argued, mostly meant) to be seen by the public.
A broken window, make no mistake, is best repaired before it breaks. The most desirable scenario is to fix the problem before it is visible, and never to have to consider perception, because there will be nothing to perceive. But if a flaw arises, the only course of action- the only course- is to deal with it immediately, to do so without trying to put a cosmetic sheen on it, and to make sure it is, without question, repaired. A piece of masking tape on a cracked window might prevent it from breaking, but it will be visible for all to see and will have the same perceived effect as a broken window itself. Repairs must be complete and immediate.

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W/C 891
Michael Levine is the author of
Broken Windows, Broken Business.
(Warner Books)