The Broken Windows Theory of Crime

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I think you pay attention to small things and you create a more orderly environment. It's what people in disorderly environments want, even if it didn't have an effect on so-called more serious crimes. I've been to police community meetings in high crime neighborhoods; this is what all those good a lot of people say. You arrest the drug dealers and they're back on the corner the next day. They care, you know, the running red lights is out of control. People are speeding through my neighborhood. Why aren't you enforcing traffic? The answer to all of these, why aren't you, is disparate impact. We would rather not enforce the law than enforce it in a color

Shermer and Mac Donald discuss: race as America’s original sin • civil rights • equality vs. equity • disparate impact • overt racism vs. systemic racism • why Blacks make less money, own fewer and lower quality homes, work in less prestigious jobs, hold fewer seats in the Senate and House of Representatives, run fewer Fortune 500 companies • race and science, medicine, classical music, opera, Juilliard, Swan Lake, museums, and the law • crime and mass shootings • George Floyd and race riots.

Heather Mac Donald is a fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a contributing editor of City Journal, and a New York Times bestselling author. She is a recipient of the 2005 Bradley Prize. Mac Donald’s work at City Journal has covered a range of topics, including higher education, immigration, policing, homelessness and homeless advocacy, criminal-justice reform, and race relations. Her writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The New Republic, and The New Criterion. Her new book is When Race Trumps Merit: How the Pursuit of Equity Sacrifices Excellence, Destroys Beauty, and Threatens Lives.