Which little things?

I was really struck by the idea of "the little things" that Gladwell mentions regarding the broken windows theory. It must have been hard to convince people that graffiti on the subways was important when people were afraid of assaults and murder. How do you know, without the benefit of hindsight, which little things are important rather than futile?

For example, currently the international community is trying to get rid of Somali piracy by patrolling the seas militarily, escorting ships, and prosecuting pirates that are captured. Essentially, they are trying to give some semblance of order just like in the NY subways. Yet piracy is continuing to grow because the core issues of the Somali conflict, like poverty and civil war, arent being dealt with. Should size/scale of the issue to resolve matter when it comes to broken windows theory? Im not sure exactly why it worked in NY but not in other places (havent we tried to apply this theory in Afghanistan to some degree, too?).

I guess even locally we should remember that the core issue is providing adequate tools to resolve conflict through mediation, no matter what little things we can add. Though the little things and the law of the few could cause a "tip", that cant be the primary focus.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jeff Thompson on February 16, 2011 at 7:27pm

Michelle,

Glad you mentioned the NYPD- my "day job" is working there as a Detective. As a member of the Community Affairs Bureau (the "communication experts" experts of the NYPD or "nice" police), I reflect on this section you mention as something I constantly try to increase is proactive engagement through positive communication skills.

I wholeheartedly believe the more any police department engages in proactive outreach with the communities they serve, it will diminish having to de-escalate negative situations and even further diminishes having to contain negative situations. Additionally, beyond the proactive, de-escalate or contain perspective it creates genuine relationships that are not based on one side needing or having wants of the other.

This is my endless approach of the "broken window" theory via police communication perspective.

Feel free to read about how I implemented this on an article about Police, Communication, Community and Cricket!

The NYPD & The Three C’s: Communication, Community & Cricket
Jeff Thompson

Permalink Reply by Barry Clemson on February 17, 2011 at 10:25am

It seems to me that the real point is to gain a deep understanding of the problem-mess before trying to do something about it. If we rush into action before understanding the real situation we simply end up dealing with symptoms rather than the system generating the symptoms ... and that means that our efforts might actually make the situation worse.

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