Chief Sargent's Broken Windows

Broken Windows

What does the police policy of Broken Windows mean for Worcester?  We will certainly soon find out.

Recently the new Chief of Police, Steven Sargent, and Worcester City Manager Edward Augustus were interviewed by a local new paper. During the interview Chief Sargent revealed that he will police Worcester based on the Broken Window Theory. This was somewhat of a surprise.

The Chief had not to my knowledge revealed to the public what his thinking on criminology, race, or body cams.

The Broken Window Theory has several parts. One part is the cleaning up of the physical environment which gives people the perception that an area is cared for and surveilled. Another part of Broken Windows Theory has been called Zero Tolerance. A third part has been the removal of “undesirables”.

The removing of “undesirables” has been in effect in Worcester for over a decade. The so called “aggressive” panhandling ordinances of the City are examples of this. The Supreme Court of the United States recently ruled that Worcester’s ordinances on this issue are unconstitutional. In some instances this practice has been the intentional precursor of gentrification.

One can only wonder what Chief Sargent and his boss, Manager Edward Augustus has planned for these people. Whatever it is the public should know.

The City Manager, after being ruled against by the Supreme Court, spoke from his bully pulpit demanding that the residents of Worcester give money to charity and not to panhandlers.

 Zero Tolerance is the practice of arresting people for minor or non-existent violations such as “disorderly”. Many statutes regarding “disorderly” or disturbing the peace are vague and give the police arbitrary and discretionary powers. This practice eventually evolved into New York City’s infamous Stop, Question, and Frisk policy.

 There is evidence that the Stop, Questions and Frisk practices of the New York Police Department was racial profiling and violations of the Fourth Amendment. The police stopped hundreds of thousands of law abiding New Yorkers annually; the vast majority are Black and Latino.

I would like Chief Sargent say there will be no Stop, Question, and Frisk policy in Worcester.

I actually agree with the first part of the Broken Windows Theory. Property owner should be made to maintain their properties. This includes the City of Worcester which has essentially abandoned its empty lot at the corner of Lake Ave, and Sunderland Road. I personally complained, but the City has not taken care of its property.

In a 2005 Harvard University Study conducted in the “ hot spots” of Lowell MA it was determined that improving the physical environment such as the better enforcement of building codes is the most effective part of Broken Windows Theory. It was also the least unlawful.

Almost all of the Police does in the City is secretive. Statistics, reports, and records of police misconduct are impossible to get.

Chief Sargent and Manager Augustus have a duty to meet with the residents of the City to explain what is in their Broken Windows Policy.

 A discussion of how Broken Windows will affect the Black and Latino communities and other residents of Worcester is needed. This should be a real discussion. The racist creeps and the gang of three racist City Councillors should be excluded.