Loose Cigarettes Today, Civil Unrest Tomorrow
By Justin Peters & Campaign Zero
Insight: Broken windows policing is back in New York City, and it may have killed Eric Garner. “Broken windows” is an order-maintenance strategy that encourages cops to enforce quality-of-life laws on the grounds that, essentially, nits breed lice. It presumes that a disorderly environment where small laws are broken with impunity leads to bigger problems. This is the mindset that led the police to approach Garner for allegedly selling untaxed cigarettes: loose cigarettes today, civil unrest tomorrow.
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Additional tags: New York City, Shrink the Reliance and Power of the Police