Influencing factors on citizen safety perception: systems and broken windows theories

The paper puts forward a systems conception of the policies associated with public organizations of all types. Using this approach it sheds light on diverse matters of great theoretical and practical significance regarding what is known as the ‘System for Public Policies,’ such as their boundaries, external and internal relationships and their epistemological problems. Other important considerations include the states and forms of representation, external and internal properties, and aspects of a dynamic character. In this paper, the Broken Windows Theory is considered as a specific case of the Systems approach to the formulation and evaluation of public policies. This paper analyses whether factors considered under the Broken Windows Theory predict citizens’ concerns about public safety and policing. The empirical research consisted of a survey of residents in a Spanish city. Results reveal that the opinion of residents about the orderliness and cleanliness of their city affects the citizens’ concerns about safety; this is considered to confirm the Broken Windows Theory in the case of Spanish cities.