Customer Reviews

Illusion of Order: The False Promise of Broken Windows Policing

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This work may be best suited for students of Criminology who are required to demonstrate their knowledge and skill in conducting their own research somewhere along the continuum from Community Oriented Policing to Intelligence Led Policing. The highly academic style is replete with methodical concerns, including the value of empirical evidence, and research jargon such as regression analysis, correlation of variables, etc.

Although the book was prepared essentially as a peer review of the earlier works of the proponents of the `Broken Windows' theory, the real value may be in its recognition of the shallowness of strictly quantitative analysis. " The important methodological point is that, once we have taken the `social meaning turn' - and I believe we must- quantitative correlations between enforcement and crime will no longer be sufficient. ...The study of social meaning calls for the integration of qualitative and quantitative methods, and integration which is being increasingly reflected in the social sciences today. From political science and sociology to program evaluation in psychology, there is a growing movement to overcome the traditional paradigm war, and to increase the amount of information brought to bear on hypotheses." Pp 110-114.

This is an essential read for the serious student of modern police methods.

Providing an abundance of evidence that many academics can't write, Harcourt displays his lack of talent in Illusion of Order. That said, the topic is fascinating and his critique of "broken windows" policing is blistering. Read it for the substance; just be prepared to wade through the pretty awful style.

I'll preface this by saying that I'm a big fan of Harcourt (I was fortunate to have a really excellent class with him one quarter). But I've always found his writing to be engaging and edifying- although I would say, stylistically, 'Against Prediction' was the best, it maintained a clear and insistent focus throughout the book. (The Illusion of Free Markets meanders a little- but I'd listen to anecdotes about Bentham and Beccaria all day, so it didn't bother me). Beyond the topics Harcourt covered in this work, (the lack of real evidence behind the 'Broken Windows' theory and and the consequences of sanctioning a bias that disorder is a cause of crime) the work encourages a deeper level of engagement with sociological/political science research- a call for solid methodology as well as theory.

So that's just to say- if you enjoy Harcourt I would encourage you to read all of his books (and papers). He returns to a lot of the same concepts (the collapse of the harm principle, the self-perpetuating nature of actuarial methods in criminology, and most recently, the assumptions made by 'law and economics' (which I'm not knocking, I find it fascinating- Posner is great, so is Farnsworth's 'The legal analyst') that criminality can be defined in terms of 'market bypassing'. That is all to say, I've found that the more of his works I read the clearer they each become.

This book touched a very personal chord for me. I've lived in New York for almost 20 years, and the mayor keeps telling us that he has given us a safer city. I also keep hearing people say that Giuliani has made the city so much safer. However, I've started to feel more frightened of the cops than I ever did of random muggers, even though I'm a 40-something middle class white woman. It didn't make sense until I read Harcourt's dissection of the mayor's claims and the ramifications of NYC's policing policies.

Reading this book made me feel vindicated. It also gave me fresh evidence of how politicians and public officials abuse their leadership. Finally, the historical background provides insight into the subtleties and intellectual underpinnings of public policy.

I purchased this as I wanted to see the argument against broken windows theory (I am for broken windows theory). The author obviously hates broken windows theory and tries to state why it is bad, and presents his arguments. What I didn't like about this book is that constantly throughout the book he uses the terms broken windows and zero tolerance interchangeably. It is clear that both methods are very different, broken windows is about order maintenance, zero tolerance is about law enforcement. An author who is trying to provide a book that involves a whole argument against broken windows should know that. Netherless I found it informative.

B. Harcourt is an expert who debunks myths in law enforcement. His findings are against common sense and may sound ridiculous to readers (and policymakers alike) with an IQ below 70, yet he has a point and makes it in a clear and well written style. Unlike superficial studies, his book goes through substantial analyses and details, which are necessary to document the case he makes. A recommended reading.

(1) Speaking as a former police supervisor, criticisms of the "Broken Windows" Theory of policing are often well taken. Unfortunately, Bernard Harcourt couches his oppositional views in a rambling, inefficiently written academese. Concise, telling points are few. The bibliography is decent. (2) Timothy Lynch's "'We Own the Night' Amadou Diallo's Deadly Encounter with New York City's Street Crimes Unit" makes a much more effective argument in only 8 pages. (Cato Institute Briefing Papers #56). George Kelling, the National Institute of Justice, and the New York Office of the Attorney General have all produced shorter, precise, and much more telling analyses of some of the pros and cons of Broken Windows doctrine.

I finally finished this book, but it wasn't easy. While Mr. Harcourt tries to show that New York (and other cities) is not any safer than it was before the Mayor began his programs I have to say it just doesn't wash. He uses the one thing to try and prove his point that just wont work and that is his own opinion. When you live in a world when all you have ever done is work in and around colleges/schools you lose a grip on the real world. Much like other "Professional Writers and/or Professors" Mr. Harcourt has watched too many liberal TV reports and read the Village Voice to often. The Cops make mistakes, but when crime rates all over the US are going down and many departments are following the Broken Windows Theory something must be working.