February 9, 2001

Poking Holes in the Theory of 'Broken Windows'

By D.W. MILLER

Many scholars say an influential idea about crime rests on dubious assumptions and minimal research

If there were a Hall of Fame for influential public-policy ideas, then the "broken windows" thesis would probably have its own exhibit. In an Atlantic Monthly article by that name published in 1982, James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling

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