Development and Challenges of Community Policing

Editorial: Application of Broken Window Theory for Crime

Reduction: A Case of Karachi City This editorial comprises of two parts: a brief introduction to the

Broken Window Theory and its possible application for crime reduction

in Karachi and an overview of the articles included in this issue.

I

On September 28, 2017 Geo.tv published a news report with the

caption “Knife attacks on women spread fear in Karachi.” This report

grabbed the attention of several people across Pakistan. Soon afterward

a series of incidents of knife attacks happened and they went viral on

social media. Among other things these incidents compel us to think of

an appropriate solution to respond and prevent such attacks in the urban

city of Karachi. Looking at this grim situation of Karachi and the fear of

women, I recalled a reading an experiment done by a Psychologist of

Stanford University named Philip Zimbardo on human nature in the year

1969. Zimbardo (1970/1969) took two similar nature cars and placed

one in the Bronx, N.Y, while the other in Palo Alto, Calife. He soon

removed the plates from both the cars and started observing the scenes.

Zimbardo observed that people in the Bronx started stealing parts from

the car right after ten minutes. People were so quick that they took all

the valuables from the car within three days in the Bronx and left it as a

source of entertainment. They used to punch the windows and put off

the pain reducing it to a mere trash box. However, to his surprise

nothing adverse happened with the car in Palo Alto. Soon Zimbardo

with the help of a sledgehammer smashed a part of the car in front of

other people, which got the attention of passersby. They also took the

hammer and started blowing the car. Resultantly, the car was

demolished within few hours. This experiment leads to the creation of

Wilson & Kelling (1982) famous Broken Window Theory of crime.

Wilson & Kelling (1982) believed that if a shattered window remains

unrepaired, people would start breaking the remaining portion. Their

assumption is that a broken window conveys the message that no one is

taking care, hence breaking more, costs nothing with zero penalties. The

“broken window” became a metaphor for ways behavioral norms break

down in a community (Petersen, 2004). This theory asserts that people

start imitating those who discredit the norms of a community, which eventually result in a macro level distress. Wilson & Kelling conjured

the illustration that a broken window left unrepaired will soon prompt

Editorial ii

the breaking of all other windows in a building (Welsh, Braga &

Bruinsma, 2015).

This theory was later used by different police departments of the

United States. The application of broken window model of policing has

significantly decreased the crime rates. For instance, a study conducted

by Corman & Mocan (2005) mentioned that the number of serious

crimes dropped significantly in the United States as a result of

aggressive policing at lower level. For example, property crimes

dropped by 65% while violent crimes decreased by 56% in 90s (Corman

& Mocan, 2005:1).

In Karachi, presence of such unrepaired broken windows is

accelerating the crime rate. At the micro level, these broken windows

can be found in streets in the form of pick pocketing, car theft,

robberies, drug sale, mobile snatching and the latest knife attacks on

women. A well-established sequence followed the occurrences of these

crimes. Hence, the contemporary plight of Karachi demands the use of

broken window policing. The abundance of broken windows in this city

made the columnist of Los Angeles Times Magnier (2013) call

“Karachi as nation’s crime capital”. This situation of insecurity led the

middle-class to hire services of private guards. It is worth noting that the

prevalence of these crimes gave birth to more heinous crimes in the city,

which include target killing, suicide bombing, and other terrorist

activities. For instance, the Samaa News (2017) reports that the money

obtained through street crimes in Karachi was used for proscribed

organizations. Similarly, Ayub (2015) states that billions of rupees

obtained through crimes have given impetus to terrorism. Moreover, it is

also a source of funding for the old gang war in Lyari.

In the past, the Karachi city police adopted different actions and

policing models to curb the street crimes. The police carried out major

operations with the assistance of the Rangers and other law enforcement

agencies against the mafias. However, the effective use of all these

operations is still questionable due to the existence of a large number of

broken windows and the prevalence of high crime rate. It is therefore

imperative for Karachi police to adopt a more focused model in

approaching city’s crimes and minimizing the likelihood of the same. In

this regard, adoption of broken window policing seems the best solution for minimizing the crime. This is because of two reasons: it is proactive

in nature and it places deliberate emphasis on micro settings from where

originates the trivial or pity natured crimes. Moreover, it has a potential

to bridge the gap between the police and the community thereby

PAKISTAN JOURNAL OF CRIMINOLOGY iii

developing a trustworthy relationship. The city police should start

addressing the broken window issue and they are then likely to reap the

benefits of crime reduction.

II Now, I would like to introduce the articles published in this issue.

The issue begins with Farah Zaidi’s interesting essay on the use of

insect evidence in criminal investigation. She asserts that forensic

entomology is the utility of arthropods/insects in legal investigations.

Zaidi in her essay states that forensic entomology is helpful in

estimating time of death. However, the science of forensic entomology

is in its initial stage in Pakistan. At the end, the author argues that in

Pakistan entomological evidence is ignored as maggots on a corpse are

considered disgusting and are often discarded. For the delivery of

justice, insect specimens, such as maggots and flies must be considered

as physical evidence just as blood stains, hairs, or any other biological

material.

Rahman Ullah and Sohail Ahmad’s study is qualitative in nature

and evaluates the legality of arming civilians from a critical standpoint.

Authors discuss the strategy of arming the people to counter the threat to

militant in FATA. Furthermore, the government time and again

surpasses laws at the time of unrest or war. Rahman Ullah and S.

Ahmad conclude that neither the Constitution of Pakistan nor the

Frontier Crimes Regulations allows the establishment of private militias.

Safdar Hussain and Niaz Muhammad’s paper is about corporal

punishment that has serious repercussions for children’s wellbeing as far

as their academic performance is concerned. Hussain and Muhammad

discuss the social impact of corporal punishment on public schools’

students. This quantitative study reveals that the corporal punishment

results in school dropout and this way causes aggression within the

students. At the end, the authors suggest to ban corporal punishment as

well as sensitize the teachers so that adverse implications for schooling

may be avoided.

Fida Mohammad and Muhammad Shafiq Khan’s paper discusses

much debated FATA reforms. Mohammad and Khan historically

contextualize Frontier Crimes Regulations as well as its political

economy. They argue that the genesis of FCR started in response to the rising crime rate in Peshawar valley after the British replaced Sika Sahi.

Mohammad & Khan reveal that there are vested interests that would like

to keep FATA isolated and backward. They keep on narrating that

Malakan, FATA administration, contractors and other beneficiaries of

Editorial iv

the status quo would like to keep business as usual because they have

symbiotic mutual benefits. In short, the authors believe that in the

presence of strong political agents, FCR will enjoy the special role.

Rahila Riasat et al haveconducted a comparative study by gauging emotional intelligence and aggression among juvenile delinquents and

non-delinquents. Their study explores the nature of the relationship

between emotional empathy, emotional intelligence and

reactive/proactive aggression. They reveal that the juvenile delinquents

have a high level of proactive and reactive aggression than non-

delinquents. Further to it, delinquents have less emotional empathy than

non-delinquents.

Noor Sanauddin and Khalid Mahmood’s study highlights an

alarming issue of suicide in prisons of England and Wales. They argue

that the suicidal tendency among inmates in England and Wales is

increasing and it requires an urgent attention. Their library-based

research reviewed the common causes and suicide patterns in the prison

and evaluates contemporary strategies of preventing suicides among

inmates. The article suggests that majority of inmates who killed

themselves did so by hanging while the first thirty days of imprisonment

and remand were highlighted as the high risk time.

There is rapid growth of incidences of sexual harassment in the

metropolitan cities across Pakistan. Tahira Jabeen et al examine sexual

harassment in relation with mobility of women in Lahore. The study

concludes that staring, cat calls and body touch are the common type of

harassment in Lahore while virtually no female is safe from these

menaces. Jabeen et al emphasized on the strict role of law in curbing

sexual harassment.

Shahla Tabassum and Rukhsana Hasan’s article discusses the

implications of spousal violence on women. They argue that spousal

violence is considered as a means of controlling women in Pakistan.

Tabassum & Hasan believed that there is always a threat of violence in

an unhealthy relationship. The study highlighted moodiness of the

husband, poverty, interference of the in-laws, infertility, and infidelity as

reasons of dispute among married couples.

One of the major problems of youth in Pakistan is cyber bullying.

Sumera Batool et al explore the effects of cyber bullying on youth in their article. The authors state that cyber bullying affects the psyche of

youth, which ultimately results in negative consequences. The negative

consequences may include emotional disturbance, conflicts in

relationships and low academic performance. Batool et al further reveal

PAKISTAN JOURNAL OF CRIMINOLOGY v

that the girls are more vulnerable and are likely to suffer more than the

boys.

Muhammad Feyyaz’s study as the last one to appear in this issue

but indeed an important one. It undertakes systematic critique of the

existing explanations of terrorism longevity, especially their constitutive

variables. The article employs grounded theory approach by drawing

upon multi-source qualitative data to discern factors preserving

oppositional violence. The article also scrutinized the merit of

theoretical assumptions and evolved from empirical context. References:

Ayub, I. (2015). Billions of black money being used to fund terrorism inKarachi

:Rangers chief.Retrieved Nov 23, 17 https://www.dawn.com/news/1187627.

Corman, H., & Mocan, N. (2005). Carrots, sticks and broken windows.The

Journal of Law and Economics, 48(1), 235-266.

Hussain, A. (2016). Karachi’s growing street crime. Retrieved Nov 20,

2017https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2016/09/05/karachis-growing-

street-crime/.

Magnier, M. (2013). Karachi is Pakistan’s economic hub and its crime capital:

If you haven’t been kidnapped, you’ve probably been mugged. Retrieved on

November 23, 2017 from http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-c1-

pakistan-karachi-crime-20131112-dto htmlstory.html.

Petersen, G. (2004). Broken windows. Retrieved on November 20,

2017fromhttp://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/702523/9292156/128901502

6113/200411 Petersen.pdf?token

Samaa News. (2017). Money from Karachi street crimes being used for banned

outfits. Retrieved on November 23, 2017 from

https://www.samaa.tv/pakistan/2017/08/money-from karachi-

street-crimes-being-used-for-banned-outfits-police/.

Welsh, B.C., Braga, A.A., & Bruinsma, G.J.N. (2015). Reimagining broken

windows: From theory to policy. Journal of Research in Crime and

Delinquency, 52(4), 447-463.

Wilson, J.Q.,& Kelling, G.L. (1982). Broken windows: The police and

neighborhood safety. Atlantic Monthly249, 29–38. Zimbardo, P.G. (1970/1969). The human choice: Individuation, reason, and

order versus deindividuation, impulse and chaos. In: Arnold, W.J, Levine,

D (eds) Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, Volume 17

(Series on Current Theory and Research in Motivation). Lincoln,

NE: University of Nebraska Press, 237–307.

Zia Ullah Akhunzada Assistant Editor (PJC)

PhD Candidate Universiti Sains Malaysia

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