Study: lawbreakers make law-abiding citizens into criminals

William Atkins
Saturday, 03 January 2009 22:23

Science - Biology

When littering, stealing, and trespassing is seen by law-abiding people, such petty crimes cause normally well-behaved people to break the law more frequently than usual, and to spread "social disorder" throughout the community.


The paper “The Spreading of Disorder” was published on November 20, 2008 in the journal Science.

Its authors are Kee Keizer, Siegwart Lindenberg, and Linda Steg, all from the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences at the University of Groningen, Netherlands.

They begin the abstract of their paper with a scenario that could exist anywhere in the world:

“Imagine that the neighborhood you are living in is covered with graffiti, litter and trash, and unreturned shopping carts. Would this reality cause you to litter more, trespass, or even steal?”

The researchers add, “A thesis known as the broken windows theory suggests that signs of disorderly and petty criminal behavior trigger more disorderly and petty criminal behavior, thus causing the behavior to spread. This may cause neighborhoods to decay and the quality of life of its inhabitants to deteriorate. For a city government, this may be a vital policy issue.”

Additional information about the “broken window” theory is found at The Economist website “Can the Can.”

Consequently, they ask the question: “But does disorder really spread in neighborhoods?”

What did they respond? Please turn to page two.