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Broken Windows Theory stipulates a building with a broken window (representing minor crimes and disorder in the community) will lead to more destruction and carelessness of property (representing major violent crimes in the whole neighborhood) and has informed policing policy since the 1990s. This paper coins the term Mirrored Windows Theory by reversing the application of Broken Windows Theory and applying it to police officers to examine whether greater prevalence of broken windows-type tactics in the form of heavy surveillance policing leads to greater use of physical force by officers. Using panel data (2009-2016) of all stop-and-frisk incidents and civilian complaints against New York City police officers alleging use of physical force, Conditional Fixed Effects Negative Binomial Regression is used for analysis. Results indicate increases in 1) stop-and-frisk incidents that do not involve the use ofphysical force, and 2) civilian complaints for which police officers are exonerated are associated with increases in officers ' actual use of physical force by 17.00% and 6.42%, respectively, within New York City neighborhoods on average. On the other hand, civilian complaints alleging inappropriate use of force are associated with a decrease in officers' actual use of physical force by 4.84% within New York City neighborhoods on average. These findings are robust while controlling for underlying neighborhood crime and demographics of each neighborhood police precinct each year.
Keywords: Broken Windows Theory, Mirrored Windows Theory, Bureaucratic Discretion, Negative Binomial Regression, Stop and Frisk, Heavy Surveillance Policing
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