by George L. Kelling and Catherine M. Coles

About the authors: George L. Kelling and Catherine M. Coles are the authors of Fixing "Broken Windows": Restoring Order in American Cities.

In the current debate over what to do about crime in America, national political leaders focus on the “grand” crime issues—capital punishment, gun control, the length of prison sentences, and the number of police on the streets. But on the local level, the terms of debate are much different. There, the issues may seem relatively trivial: panhandling, lying down in public spaces, public drinking and drug use, prostitution, unsolicited window washing, public urination and defecation, loitering, and graffiti. Yet the skirmishes being fought over these issues in areas such as Boston’s Dorchester, San Francisco’s Tenderloin area, Milwaukee’s Near West Side, Seattle&rsquo...