Letter to BS: Broken window theory offers an accurate observation of crime

Unless stone pelting and other small security-related crimes are nipped in the bud

In the 1990s, crime rates all over the United States declined dramatically. Experts tried to find the reasons. One cause was the hallmark judgment in Roe vs Wade that legalised abortions. Thus unwanted children were drastically reduced and as anyone knows an unwanted, uncared child soon takes to wayward ways starting from petty crimes to murder. But there was another factor, particularly in New York. 

The police started actively cracking down on petty crime, keeping the streets relatively free of teenage criminals. Even graffiti painters in trains were rounded up, as also those who jump the turnstiles without paying for the